Having already qualified for the primary ballot because she gathered a sufficient amount of signatures, Bitner secured 84.5% of the vote in the second round of voting Saturday, compared to 15.5% for Sam Barlow, the son of outgoing representative Stewart E. Barlow.

“It’s certainly a morale boost, but I think that what I love about the caucus system is … it’s a bellwether for the kind of response that people have to your message and the issues you care about, and so I’m excited to go and continue to meet and interact with voters and hopefully help them understand why I feel like I’m the best representative to stand up for everyday families and everyday issues that all of us care about,” Bitner said.

“There’s people in wildly different political perspectives that in the end are usually united about some of the same core subjects. We all care about housing and education and we all care about having a fiscally responsible state and a balanced budget, and I know I’m the legislator that’s going to be able to produce those results.”

Bitner was the overwhelming victor in both rounds. In the first round, she tallied 78.2% of the vote, while Barlow got 12.7% and Adam Sorenson tallied 9.1%.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“I have really great delegates and I was able to have conversations with almost all of them — in fact, all but seven before convention — and I really feel like the delegates were intentional and had conversations that allowed me to understand what they cared about, and those conversations led me to feel pretty confident that I was going to be chosen as the voice that those delegates wanted,” Bitner said.

Barlow still moves on to the primary because he received enough signatures, while Sorenson was eliminated.

Bitner was one of six candidates to receive the party’s endorsement out of eight total races that were voted on.

County Commission Seat A

In voting for the County Commission Seat A spot, being vacated by House District 16 hopeful Bob Stevenson, Scott Fletcher picked up the party’s endorsement after defeating former Bountiful Mayor Kendalyn Harris 53.0% to 47.0% in the third round.

Harris and John Adams both still move on to the primary because they gathered enough signatures.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

Adams received 10.6% and 11.1% in the first and second rounds, respectively.

Austin Gray received 3.1% of the vote in the first round and was eliminated.

County Commission Seat B

For the County Commission Seat B spot, Susan Lee moved on to the primary as the party’s endorsed candidate after defeating former Clinton Mayor Brandon Stanger 57.3% to 42.7% in the second round.

Incumbent Lorene Kamalu will still move on to the primary because she gathered enough signatures.

In the first round, Lee received 53.8% of the vote while Stanger received 23.3%. Kamalu received 22.9%.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

Stanger and Kamalu were separated by three votes in the first round.

County Sheriff

For Davis County Sheriff, Jon Atkin advanced to the primary as the party’s endorsed candidate after defeating Aaron Perry 55.2% to 44.8% in the third round.

Perry still moves on to the primary because he gathered enough signatures.

In the first round, Atkin received 43.4% of the vote, Perry received 24.7%, Andy Oblad received 23.1% and Zach Van Emmerik received 8.7%.

In the second round, Atkin received 49.1%, Perry received 27.1% and Oblad received 23.8%.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

Oblad had been endorsed by current Davis County Sheriff Kelly Sparks.

County Clerk

For Davis County Clerk, Jona Whitesides moved on to the primary as the party’s endorsed candidate after defeating incumbent Brian McKenzie 51.1% to 48.9%.

McKenzie still moves on to the primary because he gathered enough signatures.

House District 14

In House District 14, currently represented by U.S. House hopeful Karianne Lisonbee, John Taylor advanced to the primary as the party’s endorsed candidate after defeating Kara Toone 78.0% to 22.0%.

Toone still moves on to the primary because she gathered enough signatures.

House District 16 and Senate District 6

The House District 16 and Senate District 6 races were the only two races to have a winner but not one endorsed by the party.

In the House District 16 race, Stevenson defeated incumbent Trevor Lee 54.9% to 45.1%.

Stevenson would have moved on regardless of the outcome because he gathered enough signatures. Lee still moves on because he received at least 30% of the vote.

Speaking to the Standard-Examiner before the convention, Stevenson highlighted his experience.

“There’s a lot of things I’ve learned serving at the city and the county that I believe that I can take to the state and be able to bring a lot of information dealing with what cities and counties really need as far as investment,” he said. “I have a pretty good understanding of the whole state. When you’re a county commissioner, you get to work with all the counties throughout the state, and I’ve got a pretty good understanding of the different issues throughout the state, which I think I can help maybe mentor some people in the Legislature on.”

For his part, Lee highlighted his “transparency” and “accessibility” as accomplishments.

“I am listening to (people) and fighting for them on a daily basis,” he told the Standard-Examiner.

In the Senate District 6 race, Kaysville Mayor Tami Tran defeated Robert Wanless 59.8% to 40.2%.

Tran would have moved on regardless of the outcome because she gathered enough signatures. Wanless still moves on because he received at least 30% of the vote.

Candidates advanced by acclamation

A number of candidates were advanced through by acclamation vote because there was not a competing Republican. Those candidates were Troy Rawlings (Davis County Attorney) Scott Parke (Davis County Controller), Erik R. Craythorne (House District 13), Ariel Defay (House District 15), Paul Cutler (House District 18) and Melissa Ballard (House District 20).

Raymond P. Ward of House District 19 also doesn’t have a Republican competing against him, but he was not voted through by acclamation because he elected to only go through by signature gathering, according to Davis County Republican Party Chairman Don Guymon.

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.