Weber County GOPers make picks in 1 Utah Senate, 3 Utah House races
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- The Weber County Republican Party hosted a forum on Thursday, June 2, 2022, at the Pleasant View Branch library in Washington Terrace featuring the GOP candidates for office. From left are Katy Hall, Jason Kyle, Kimberly Cozzens, Andrew Badger, Douglas Durbano and Ann Millner.
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- The candidates in the 2022 cycle for the District 11 seat in the Utah House are, from left, Kelly Miles, the incumbent, and Katy Hall. Both are Republicans and the primary is set for June 28, 2022.
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- From left, the hopefuls for the District 10 seat in the Utah House, Democrat Rosemary Lesser, the incumbent, and Republicans Jill Koford and Lorraine Brown
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- The two Republican hopefuls for the District seat in the Utah House are, from left, Jason Kyle and Kimberly Cozzens.
OGDEN — The race for one legislative post serving Weber County will be decided in primary voting, which culminates June 28, while the list of Republicans in three other contests will be whittled from two hopefuls in each to one.
Ballots have been mailed to registered voters, so the voting is on.
At the same time, the money has been flowing — into some races more than others. Pre-primary campaign finance reports were due Tuesday and Sen. Ann Millner, seeking reelection to the District 5 Utah Senate seat, posted the biggest numbers among the GOP legislative hopefuls in Weber County — $272,456.86 in contributions, which includes money she already had at the start of 2022.
Most is at stake this primary cycle, perhaps, in the race for the District 11 seat in the Utah House. Two GOPers are running, incumbent Kelly Miles and Katy Hall, and with no other candidates from any other parties vying, primary voting will determine who wins the seat.
Miles, an attorney who lives outside South Ogden in unincorporated Weber County, is seeking his fourth term, challenged by Hall, a registered nurse from South Ogden who’s seeking public office for the first time.
Miles has stressed his time in office and the seniority he’s garnered, augmenting, he maintains, his influence in the House. A big focus for him is tackling mental health and substance abuse issues.
Hall has cited her background in health care and science and her conservative outlook, lacking, in her view, from Miles.
In his pre-primary campaign finance report due Tuesday, Miles reported year-to-date contributions of $77,165.01, including $10,083.49 he had at the start of the year, and year-to-date expenditures of $59,133.29. Hall reported contributions of $15,526, including funds she had at the start of the year, and expenses of $14,581.12.
District 11 covers portions of South Ogden, Washington Terrace, Riverdale and Uintah in Weber County and part of South Weber and Hill Air Force Base in Davis County.
Here’s a look at the other legislative races Weber C0unty GOPers are weighing in on:
District 5, Utah Senate: Millner of Ogden is going for her third term in the Utah Senate, challenged by Doug Durbano of Mountain Green, who unsuccessfully ran for the 1st District U.S. House seat in 2020.
A former president of Weber State University, Millner puts a big focus on workforce and education issues. Durbano, an attorney, has cited the housing crunch and what he sees as an undue property tax burden on Utah families as big concerns.
Millner reported $272,456.86 in year-to-date contributions, including $155,406.93 she already had on hand at the beginning of the year, and $103,177.6 in year-to-date expenses. Durbano reported $76,9765 in contributions, including funding he already had at the start of the year, and $65,187.29 in year-to-date expenses.
District 5, renumbered from District 18 per redistricting, covers all or parts of Riverdale, South Ogden, Ogden, Washington Terrace and Uintah in Weber County, extending into parts of Morgan and Davis counties as well.
The Republican primary victor will face Democrat Michael Blodgett in the November general election.
District 8, Utah House: Jason Kyle and Kimberly Cozzens are facing off in the GOP primary in the race for the District 8 seat in the Utah House.
The winner will face Democrat Monica Hall in the fall and whoever wins, the district representative will be new. Two-term incumbent Steve Waldrip, a Republican, dropped out of the District 8 race last April.
Both Kyle and Cozzens voice strong pro-life stances and say education is a key issue. Cozzens wants to make sure parents have a say in the education process while Kyle calls for clear parameters in what can be taught in the classroom. They both say medical privacy is a big concern — that is, they stress that the public shouldn’t have to disclose personal vaccination records and other such information. Both live in Huntsville.
Kyle had $17,335.18 in year-to-date contributions, including funds on hand at the start of the year, and $2,002.31 in expenses. The latest finance report on file for Cozzens covered the period through April 18, showing she had $2,940.02 in year-to-date contributions at that time and had spent $1,621.23.
District 8 covers the East Bench and other portions of Ogden as well as part of North Ogden and the Ogden Valley. A small portion edges into Morgan County.
District 10 Utah House: Lorraine Brown and Jill Koford are duking it out in the GOP primary, with the winner to face off in November against Rep. Rosemary Lesser, the incumbent and sole Democrat among Weber County’s legislative contingent.
Brown, an Ogden attorney, puts a big focus on issues of import to families and Koford says property rights are important, among other things.
Brown reported $26,800 in year-to-date contributions, including funds on hand at the start of the year, and $31,043.55 in expenditures. Koford reported $46,455.60 in year-to-date funding, including money on hand at the start of the year, and $46,286.30 in spending.
District 10 covers southern Ogden, part of South Ogden, northern Riverdale and northern Washington Terrace.