McAdams Retakes Narrow Lead; Declares Himself 4th District Winner
Nov 19, 2018, 10:28 AM | Updated: 10:53 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The lead has switched again in the race for Utah’s 4th Congressional District race, just under two weeks since the election was held.
Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams has retaken the lead in the race against incumbent Republican Mia Love, after additional ballots released Monday night.
The ballots were released by Salt Lake County around 5 p.m. Tuesday, giving McAdams a 739 vote lead in a race where a total of about 269,000 ballots have been counted across four counties.
Democrat Ben McAdams claims victory in Utah’s 4th Congressional District race, despite a lead of just 739 votes and more ballots still to be processed.
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) November 20, 2018
The latest tally put McAdams ahead by 0.28 percent – barely outside the threshold for a recount. Under Utah law, a candidate can request a recount if the margin is 0.25 percent or tighter.
Utah, Salt Lake, Juab and Sanpete Counties were set to release their final vote counts Tuesday afternoon. State election officials were expected to certify the results on November 26.
Despite the narrow lead, McAdams held a press conference Monday evening to declare himself the winner.
McAdams said Monday night at a news conference that county clerks told his campaign that nearly all the votes have been counted, leaving no way for the lead to revert to Love.
“I’d like to take a moment and acknowledge my opponent Mia Love and her service to our state,” he said. “I think it’s now time to put partisanship behind us and the election behind us and come together to support leaders who will do what’s in the best interest of Utahns.”
Love released a campaign shortly after McAdams’ comments thanking the voters and her family. She did not concede defeat.
In the statement, Love said, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the voters, who along with our family, have been waiting for 2 weeks to get election results. Thank you for your continued participation in this process.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
