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United States Senate election in Utah (2018 Democratic primary)

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2022
2016
U.S. Senate, Utah
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 15, 2018
Primary: June 26, 2018
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent:
Orrin Hatch (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Utah
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
U.S. Senate, Utah
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th
Utah elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018

A Democratic Party primary convention took place on April 28, 2018 in Utah to determine which Democrat would run in the state's November 6, 2018, general election.

This page focuses on the Democratic convention. For an overview of the election in general, click here.

Given no Democrat has represented Utah in the U.S. Senate since 1977, the Democratic primary was not expected to be competitive. Incumbent Sen. Orrin Hatch, who was first elected in 1976, won his last bid for the seat in 2012 by 36 percentage points.

Jenny Wilson, a member of the Salt Lake County Council, reported raising the most of any Democratic candidate through the third quarter of 2017 with nearly $300,000 in receipts.[1]


See also: United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2018

Candidates and election results

See also: Statistics on U.S. Congress candidates, 2018

The Utah Democratic Party held a nominating convention on April 28, 2018. Jenny Wilson, a Salt Lake County councilwoman, was selected via convention with 81 percent of the vote.[2]

Democratic Party Democratic convention candidates

Withdrew


Campaign finance

The table below contains data from FEC Quarterly October 2017 reports. It includes only candidates who reported at least $10,000 in campaign contributions as of September 30, 2017.[8]

Democratic Party Democrats



Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no Pivot Counties in Utah. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Utah with 45.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 27.5 percent. Independent candidate and Utah native Evan McMullin received 21.5 percent of the vote, his strongest showing in a state. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Utah cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same timeframe, Utah supported Republican candidates more often than Democrats, 73.3 to 23.3 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Utah. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[9][10]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won seven out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 20.8 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 19 out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 21.9 points. Clinton won six districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 68 out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 54.4 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 56 out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 30.7 points.

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Utah heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

Trifecta status

2018 elections

See also: Utah elections, 2018

Utah held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Utah
 UtahU.S.
Total population:2,990,632316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):82,1703,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:87.6%73.6%
Black/African American:1.1%12.6%
Asian:2.2%5.1%
Native American:1.1%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.9%0.2%
Two or more:2.6%3%
Hispanic/Latino:13.4%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:91.2%86.7%
College graduation rate:31.1%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$60,727$53,889
Persons below poverty level:12.7%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Utah.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2017, Utah had a population of approximately 3,100,000 people, with its three largest cities being Salt Lake City (pop. est. 190,000), West Valley City (pop. est. 140,000), and Provo (pop. est. 120,000).[11][12]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Utah from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Lieutenant Governor of Utah.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Utah every four years from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Utah 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Donald Trump 45.5% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 27.5% 18.0%
2012 Republican Party Mitt Romney 72.6% Democratic Party Barack Obama 24.7% 47.9%
2008 Republican Party John McCain 62.2% Democratic Party Barack Obama 34.2% 28.0%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 71.5% Democratic Party John Kerry 26.0% 45.5%
2000 Republican Party George W. Bush 66.8% Democratic Party Al Gore 26.3% 40.5%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Utah from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Utah 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Mike Lee 68.2% Democratic Party Misty Snow 27.1% 41.1%
2012 Republican Party Orrin Hatch 65.2% Democratic Party Scott Howell 30.2% 35.0%
2010 Republican Party Mike Lee 61.6% Democratic Party Sam Granato 32.8% 28.8%
2006 Republican Party Orrin Hatch 62.5% Democratic Party Pete Ashdown 31.1% 31.4%
2004 Republican Party Bob Bennett 68.7% Democratic Party Paul Van Dam 28.4% 40.3%
2000 Republican Party Orrin Hatch 65.6% Democratic Party Scott Howell 31.5% 34.1%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the six gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Utah. Included in the table are the results of the 2010 special election called to fill the seat of former Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), who had resigned to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China.

Election results (Governor), Utah 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Republican Party Gary Herbert 66.7% Democratic Party Mike Weinholtz 28.7% 38.0%
2012 Republican Party Gary Herbert 68.4% Democratic Party Peter Cooke 27.7% 40.7%
2010 Republican Party Gary Herbert 64.1% Democratic Party Peter Corroon 31.9% 32.2%
2008 Republican Party Jon Huntsman 77.6% Democratic Party Bob Springmeyer 19.7% 57.9%
2004 Republican Party Jon Huntsman 57.7% Democratic Party Scott Matheson 41.4% 16.3%
2000 Republican Party Mike Leavitt 55.8% Democratic Party Bill Orton 42.7% 13.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Utah in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Utah 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 4 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+4
2014 Republican Party 4 100% Democratic Party 0 0% R+4
2012 Republican Party 3 75% Democratic Party 1 25% R+2
2010 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2008 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2006 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2004 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2002 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1
2000 Republican Party 2 66.7% Democratic Party 1 33.3% R+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Utah Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R


See also

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Republican Party (6)