UPDATE: Knuth, Nadolski top field of Ogden mayoral hopefuls, to face off in November
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- With the vast majority of ballots counted in the Ogden mayoral primary, Taylor Knuth is on track to be the top finisher with 1,997 votes, followed by Ben Nadolski with 1,829 votes. The two topped the field of seven contenders and will face off for the mayoral post in the November general election.
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- A pair of poll workers await voters on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, at the Weber Center in Ogden, where in-person primary balloting took place.
OGDEN — The Ogden mayoral race has been narrowed to Taylor Knuth and Ben Nadolski.
Incomplete results released Tuesday evening from primary voting showed Knuth and Nadolski leading the seven-candidate field. But with more ballots to be counted and three other hopefuls within potential striking distance, no one was immediately claiming victory.
Late Wednesday afternoon, though, that all changed.
Weber County elections officials finished tallying the vast majority of the outstanding votes and Knuth and Nadolski still hold the top spots — Knuth with 1,997 votes and Nadolski with 1,829 votes. The primary is meant to narrow the field of mayoral hopefuls to the top two vote-getters, and now Knuth and Nadolski will be contending for the mayor’s seat in the November general election.
Soon after release of the updated numbers, Knuth issued a statement claiming victory and lauding Ogden as “the city that built me.”
“Growing up with a single mother who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, I was never meant to run for office, let alone win a primary election to be Ogden’s next mayor. And yet, the people of Ogden have made their choice clear,” he said.
Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch, who oversees the elections office, told the Standard-Examiner that with Wednesday’s updated figures, the overwhelming majority of votes have been counted. “This is 99.5% of total ballots,” he said. “We’ll process the stragglers next week.”
With 10,065 mayoral ballots now counted — up from around 7,500 as of Tuesday night — the number of votes each mayoral candidate garnered went up, but the order stayed the same as before. Bart Blair was in third place behind Knuth and Nadolski with 1,770 votes. Next was Angel Castillo with 1,693 votes, Jon Greiner with 1,549 votes, Oscar Mata with 801 votes and Chris Barragan with 385 votes.
Even before the new votes were counted, Knuth and Nadolski had expressed a measure of optimism on their prospects of passing on to the next round of voting.
“I trust the process and look forward to seeing the final vote count, but we are incredibly encouraged by the initial results,” Knuth said in a statement late Tuesday night. “I truly love Ogden, and words cannot express what it feels like to have that love reciprocated.”
Nadolski, for his part, had said he wasn’t surprised by Tuesday’s numbers and the relatively close finish among the top five vote-getters.
“With seven candidates in the race, we knew plurality was going to be a challenge. But we felt like our platform and positive messaged resonated with people, and we were building momentum all the way through the polls closing,” Nadolski said.
Castillo, who finished in the fourth spot, noted the “overwhelmingly positive response” her campaign generated in the final days of campaigning. She expressed excitement “that so many Ogdenites have participated in this important election for the future of our city.”
Blair, like Nadolski, said the close finish didn’t surprise him. But he lauded the other contenders and their campaign efforts. “All the candidates ran a great race and they should feel happy with the race they ran,” he said.
Mayor Mike Caldwell, finishing his third term, did not seek another term, setting the stage for the crowded primary.
Left uncounted after the release of the first vote totals Tuesday were mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday but received Wednesday or thereafter, the 100 or so ballots cast in person on Tuesday and ballots placed in drop boxes after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Hatch said.
He said around 4,000 ballots were picked up from drop boxes Tuesday night, not included in vote totals released that evening. Furthermore, he anticipated another 1,000 in the mail on Wednesday. Half of those 5,000 or so ballots would probably be for Ogden races, he estimated, with the rest for city council contests in North Ogden, Roy and Hooper.