Trump wasn’t on the ballot, but he still lost last night. Curtis wins congressional seat. A look at other Utah election results.
Happy Wednesday. President Donald Trump wasn’t on the ballot last night but in two key gubernatorial races, he might as well have been the candidate. Majorities of voters in Virginia and New Jersey disapproved of the job Trump is doing as president, with significant numbers of voters in each state saying Trump was a reason for their vote. And far more of those voters said they made their choice to oppose Trump than to support him. [Politico]
Topping the news: Provo Mayor John Curtis won the 3rd Congressional District seat, beating Democratic opponent Kathie Allen by a significant percentage of votes. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV] [ABC4] [KUER]
-> Unofficial election results suggest Michelle Kaufusi will be Provo’s new mayor, the first female mayor the city has had in its history. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Four incumbent Salt Lake County mayors, in Sandy, Taylorsville, Riverton and West Jordan, lost their elections. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @pourmecoffee: “I want Trump to be devastated by the elections, but not enough to start a nuclear war over there. These are the dilemmas that keep the great philosophers awake.”
-> From @petridishes: “after a year of trump, Virginia wanted to Ralph”
-> From @inkedtater: “Dear @jack/@Twitter/@support I will give up my 280 characters if you will keep the POTUS from tweeting 280.”
Happy Birthday: Conservative activist Cherilyn Eagar and Matt Sandgren, chief of staff to Sen. Orrin Hatch.
In other news: Although final results won’t be available for two weeks, it appears Hilldale, home of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, could elect a mayor outside of its dominant faith. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> Salt Lake City Council seats are likely to be filled by Amy Fowler, Erin Mendenhall and James Rogers after yesterday’s election. Chris Wharton led Phil Carroll at a 54-45 percentage at the end of the night. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates who really walks away with the funds in Washington. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke considers how Provo Mayor and newly elected congressman John Curtis will represent the 3rd District. [Trib]
Nationally: Democrats saw victories on the East Coast, with Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam being elected as Virginia’s new governor and Philip D. Murphy winning New Jersey’s governorship. [NYTimes]
-> Danica Roem is the first openly transgender state legislator, after her election to Virginia General Assembly. [WaPost]
-> The Joint Committee on Taxation released an analysis Tuesday that revealed that some middle-income Americans may see their taxes increase as a result of the Republican’s tax bill. [Politico]
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— Thomas Burr and Karenna Meredith Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/meredithkarenna