2022 election results: Washington County's Almquist, Iverson, Snow lead commissioner races

The Republican Party's longstanding stranglehold on Washington County leadership positions appears poised to stand a little longer, with GOP candidates for county commission, county attorney and county clerk all holding commanding leads after preliminary vote counts as of early Wednesday.

The vote totals released just after the polls closed were unofficial and preliminary, as election officials were quick to reiterate. The initial vote count included the results from by-mail ballots that had been sent in early and counted by the time the physical polls had closed at 8 p.m., but not any by-mail ballots that had not yet arrived or dropped off ahead of Election Day and not some of late in-person ballots or provisional ballots that had been cast at voting sites on Tuesday.

Still, with nearly 50,000 votes already counted, any votes added later seemed unlikely to change the overall results, with the Republican candidate in every race holding a large lead.

Almquist versus Ford for Commission Seat A

Gil Almquist, a local business owner and former city council member from St. George, appeared likely to hold onto his seat and extend a political career that has spanned more than a decade going back to his time on the St. George City Council.

Almquist was ahead 37,466 votes (76.5%) to 11,503 (23.5%) over his challenger, Democratic Party candidate Robert Ford, according to the preliminary vote tallies reported late Tuesday by county election clerks.

A landscape contractor and St. George resident of 40 years, Almquist spent eight years on the city council, from 2007 to 2015. He had previously spent 16 years on the city planning commission.

Ford, a “semi-retired” landscape geographer and photographer who has worked for the federal government and in Africa and Asia, has now run two races against Almquist, arguing his technical skills as an expert in water and agriculture would benefit a county that faces major challenges with natural resources.

Iverson versus Goode for Commission Seat B

Incumbent Commissioner Victor Iverson, also a Republican, also appeared poised to hold onto his seat and earn a third term in office in his matchup with Democrat Chuck Goode.

Iverson had 36,434 votes (75%) to Goode's 12,166 (25%) as of Wednesday's preliminary results.

A business owner and former advisor for U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, Iverson first won a seat on the commission in 2014 and then ran unopposed for reelection in 2018. He also campaigned in 2020 as the candidate to be lieutenant governor under former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, who lost in the Republican Party's primary election that summer.

Goode, a longtime member of the local Democratic Party leadership, is a retired systems engineer, consultant and U.S. Army veteran.

Snow versus Winsor for Commission Seat C

Republican Adam Snow, who was appointed to the commission last year to replace the late Dean Cox, was well ahead in his first election bid, with 36,987 votes (76%) to 11,696 (24%) for Democrat Rebecca Winsor.

The winner of this race is scheduled to only serve two years before the seat goes back up for election in 2024, the end of Cox's original term.

Before he was appointed to the commission, Snow headed the southern Utah office for U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart.

Clarke versus Latham for county attorney

Eric Clarke, who was appointed as Washington County Attorney in 2020 and then won an election to the post later that year, appeared likely to win again this year, leading with 37,210 votes (79.6%) compared to 9,526 (20.4%) for Libertarian Party candidate J. Robert Latham.

Lewis versus Kent for county clerk

Susan Lewis, the sitting Washington County clerk and another Republican Party appointee — party leaders installed her into the office in 2021 — also looked likely to hold onto her position, with 40,837 votes (92.5%).

Lewis was the only one whose name was on the ballot but Patricia Kent, a member of the Independent American Party, had waged a spirited write-in campaign for the seat. The unofficial count showed Kent with 2,840 write-in votes (6.4%).

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly described Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke's election history. Clarke was appointed to office in February of 2020 and then won an election for the position in November of that year.

David DeMille writes about southwestern Utah for The Spectrum & Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newsroom based in St. George. Follow him at @SpectrumDeMille or contact him at ddemille@thespectrum.com. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Election results: Almquist, Iverson, Snow lead commissioner races