Utah County Clerk Republican Primary: Corey Astill vs. Aaron Davidson
Learn about the candidates for Utah County Clerk in the June 2026 Republican Primary.
About this position
Most citizens don’t pay attention to county clerk races—but they should. The county clerk is a full-time position managing vital records (birth, death, marriages), passports, public records, employees, and more.
Importantly, county clerks administer elections and are responsible for keeping voter rolls accurate and up-to-date as well as carrying out state law. Utah County’s clerk runs elections, along with other county records offices, for the second-largest and fastest-growing county in the state. Utah County now has nearly 775,000 residents.
Watch this video or read our state code about the duties of county clerks to learn more.
Candidates
Top priorities come from candidates’ official websites. We view this guide as merely a starting point. Please research more and reach out to the candidates directly to learn more about their issues and experience.
Find the values and attributes we’re looking for in candidates.
Corey Astill
About: Utah native who returned to Utah County during the pandemic. Attorney, former senior advisor and chief of staff to a U.S. senator, small business owner.
Top priorities (from website): Integrity. Accuracy. Accountability.
Insights: Mr. Astill has worked at all levels of government, including in Washington D.C. We have been impressed by his campaigning for this race, especially by his decision to stand up for Utah’s vote by mail system (not typically popular with Republican delegates) during a debate this spring.
Mr. Astill is very conservative (not moderate), but we also have found him to be rational, fair, and a true believer in the rule of law. After speaking multiple times with Mr. Astill and reviewing his record, we believe that he would work to protect the integrity of the vote and manage the clerk’s office well.
Aaron Davidson
About: Raised in Arizona; moved to Utah for college and afterwards. Current Utah County clerk. Degrees in accounting, business, and information technology; was self-employed before becoming clerk in 2023.
Top accomplishments (from website): Cast vote records, Alpine School District split, catching fraudsters, citizenship verification, drop box usage.
Insights: Mr. Davidson campaigned in 2022 on two ideas: 1) the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and 2) he wanted to end vote by mail. We have been worried ever since. He won the 2022 Utah County Republican convention handily, skipping a primary, then won the general election with no real competition.
Several of our members have watched his actions closely the past four years. During his time as county clerk, Mr. Davidson has asked for access to legally protected records, tracked the ballots of elected officials, and created a voting option that bypassed security and allowed 19 unaccounted for votes. In 2024, insufficient planning for in-person votes caused the state to send a plane to Arizona for more ballot paper on Election Day, costing hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Learn more about his term in office.
For this and more, we feel confident that Mr. Davidson is not the best choice for Utah County clerk.
Our Recommendation
We strongly recommend Mr. Astill as far better aligned with Utah values in the Republican primary this June. While he is not necessarily “moderate” in his politics, we feel that Mr. Astill—a classical conservative—has the management skills and commitment to principles to be successful in this office.
Moreover, we are sincerely worried about the integrity of Utah County elections if his opponent (who we find to be more reactionary than conservative) prevails.
Find out more about the candidates from different sources and watch their debate before convention. Both candidates received at least 40% at the Republican convention in June, and Mr. Astill additionally gathered enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot.
What next?
The winner of the Republican Primary will face a challenge from centrist Forward Party candidate Russ Rampton in November. (Of note: Mr. Rampton also ran against Mr. Davidson four years ago, taking second at the Republican Convention in 2022)
Find out more about the candidates and the race so far.
Well done.