Dozens of people filed to run for election this year in Utah County—candidates for county commissioners, clerks, sheriff, attorney, and even county auditor. Utah County is the state’s second most populous and fastest-growing county. It now has nearly 775,000 residents who are served by a relatively small team of elected officials along with county staff.
Quick refresher on each elected position:
County Commissioner: Utah County has three full-time commissioners who make legislative and executive decisions for the county and work with local and state leaders. Commissioners control zoning and development for unincorporated land in the county, oversee the Sheriff’s Department, manage natural resources and infrastructure on county land, and create legislation for the county. Their budget comes from county property taxes. Learn more about the Utah County Commission and see Utah’s forms of county government.
County Clerk: Most citizens don’t pay attention to county clerk races, but they should! The Utah County Clerk is a full-time position managing vital records (birth, death, marriages), passports, 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. More in this video and our state code about the duties of county clerks.
County Auditor: The county auditor manages financial reporting, audirs, budgeting, and purchasing. The auditor’s office conducts internal audits of county departments, issues property valuation notices, and manages tax relief programs. We find it is important to have a competent and qualified county auditor—mistakes can cost residents significant sums.
County Attorney: The county attorney’s office investigates and prosecutes crime, assists crime victims, and provides legal representation and guidance for the county government. The attorney works with law enforcement and directs the office, helping determine what sentences to pursue. Notably, the Utah County Attorney’s office has recently been in the limelight with the prosecution of the Charlie Kirk case.
County Sheriff: Provides law enforcement services to the county, particularly unincorporated areas and contract cities. The county also works with other agencies at the local, state, and federal level to cooperate and investigate cases. Learn more about the sheriff’s office.
Utah County Clerk
The incumbent for this race, Aaron Davidson, did not make it past the primary election. We are relieved. For the general election, we recommend Russ Rampton (Forward Party).
Mr. Rampton brings real-world experience working in the clerk’s office and a clear commitment to impartiality. As a longtime Republican, Mr. Rampton took second at the Utah County Republican convention back in 2022, running on integrity. In our opinion, he would have been a much better pick for clerk.
We also view Corey Astill as an acceptable choice for clerk, based on his commitment to integrity and upholding vote by mail during a primary debate. (Unfortunately, these views were not always popular with delegates). In our opinion, Mr. Astill veers more partisan—he has previous run for both state House and Senate— and doesn’t bring the same depth of experience running election operations as Mr. Rampton would. (Read more about Mr. Astill our primary guide to this race.)
Find more about this race from Utah Election Info, the Daily Herald, and more
Utah County Commissioner A
We are disappointed by this year’s candidates for Utah County Commissioner A, a powerful position. Reasonable people will disagree on who the best candidate on the ballot is for this position.
However, given our stated preference for checks on power—and the fact that 100% of current Utah County elected officials are Republican—we prefer Jeanne Bowen (D) in this race. Ms. Bowen is a current Utah County employee who vows to prioritize infrastructure, communication, and the real issues citizens care about: water supply, air quality, crime, and more.
We recognize Michelle Kaufusi (R), has the more impressive resume: she brings two terms of mayoral experience and relationships around the county. While acknowledging this experience is helpful, we have also personally seen Ms. Kaufusi ignore constituents and heard her denigrate opponents (in particular, saying some pretty nasty and untrue things about a previous opponent after losing her bid for a third mayoral term last year). We had hoped to support her but don’t feel she has earned our vote. See our full write-up for the Republican primary election.
A third candidate, Jacob Oaks, is running for the ultraconservative Independent American Party. We question Mr. Oaks judgement in recently refusing to pay a $300 fine for driving with a suspended license and note he previously ran for Utah’s county clerk position in 2022, promising to break the law in favor of preferred social positions.
Utah County Commissioner B
For County Commission B, we strongly recommend David Hinckley (Forward Party) as the best candidate in this race. Mr. Hinckley is a longtime Utah County native who works in analytics and leadership and has been very involved in his community for years. We’ve enjoyed rigorous conversations with Mr. Hinckley on policy issues and found him to be fair-minded and hardworking. His priorities include planning growth and coordinating across communities; bringing residents into decisions earlier; and support transparency and election security.
His opponents include David Spencer (R), a former Orem City Council member. We note that heg enerated controversy yelling at residents in Orem public meetings and lost re-election last year. After hearing Mr. Spencer’s very partisan speeches throughout county convention, we do not feel he meets the values we’re looking for.
It also includes J. Allen (D), a tech enterpreneur and executive and longtime Boy Scout leader. Mr. Allen is running on afforability, no raises for county commissioners (who in recent years got a sizable increase from about $120,000 to around $180,000), no AI data centers, and equal protections for everyone.
Find more resources about this race from Utah Election Info, the Herald Extra, KSL
Utah County Auditor
We highly recommend Gina Tanner (R) for county auditor. As a longtime auditor and current Budget Director, Ms. Tanner brings relevant experience working in the auditor’s office; we believe could do the job well on day 1. We also admired her ability to stay out of the partisan fray during delegate events and convention—difficult to do.
Her opponent, Hans Andersen of the ultraconservative Independent American party, brings no relevant experience along with a penchant for voting “no” and spinning the truth. Mr. Andersen is very partisan, and we’ve heard Independent American candidate Hans Andersen compared to the “Nick Shirley” of Utah County.
Honestly, we wish county auditor was a merit-based (hired) or nonpartisan role instead of its current partisan nature. We see no room for partisanship in the auditor’s office; we just want the proper tax notices to go out.
Utah County Sheriff
Current Sheriff Mike Smith is running unopposed this year in the general election. He was a longtime police officer before becoming Chief of Police in Pleasant Grove. Mr. SMith first ran (and won) for Utah County Sheriff in 2018. Of note, Mr. Smith faced two challengers who didn’t get much traction in the 2022 Republican primary; no one challenged him this year.
See his campaign website, social media, and more about the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Utah County Attorney
Jeff Gray was elected four years ago to Utah County Attorney, replacing a controversial attorney. During his 2022 campaign, Mr. Gray pledged to “charge what the evidence shows” rather than partisan whims.
We appreciate his experience and straightforward approach to the attorney’s office, and are glad to see him remain in office.