Carbon County goes for Trump

With a projected 277 electoral college votes and more than 71 million votes as of November 6, former president Donald Trump is the presumptive president-elect according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Carbon County cast more than 6,000 ballots in the 2024 General Election, turnout surpassed the primary election by more than 1,000.

With 6,446 votes cast, the amount was more than the 2022 General Election which saw 5,860 ballots cast. It was just barely under the number of ballots cast in 2020, which saw 6,706 ballots cast. In August, 5,388 ballots were cast during the primary election.

Across Carbon County, voters overwhelmingly supported the top-of-the-ticket Republican candidates such as former president Donald Trump, Senator John Barrasso and Representative Harriet Hageman.

Carbon County voters also voted in support of Constitutional Amendment A and the Carbon County School District No. 1 Tax Continuation while just barely voting down the Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Special Tax District.

Trump Train

Carbon County came out in support of Trump and running mate JD Vance with 4,952 votes cast for the Republican candidates for president and vice-president. Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz received 1,274 votes in Carbon County. Barrasso, similarly, won handily against Democratic challenger Scott Morrow with 5,028 votes in the county to Morrow’s 1,216. Hageman, meanwhile, received 4,703 votes in Carbon County while Democrat Kyle Cameron received 1,088.

The Trump/Vance ticket received 192,576 votes in Wyoming. The Harris/Walz ticket, meanwhile, received just 69,508 votes. Barrasso received 198,366 votes to Morrow’s 63,706 while Hageman received 184,626 votes to Cameron’s 60,763.

In The House

Pamela Thayer, who beat out fellow candidates Terry Weickum and Sheryl Foland in the primary election, ran unopposed for House District 15. Thayer received 2,744 votes while there were 97 write-in votes.

Representative Bob Davis received substantial support from voters in Carbon County—which makes up the majority of House District 47—with 2,570 votes. Democratic challenger James Wilson received just 461 votes.

Thayer received an additional 46 votes from Sweetwater County, with Bairoil now being part of House District 15, for a total of 2,790 votes. Davis, meanwhile, received another 917 votes in Sweetwater County compared to Wilson’s 205. This gave Davis a total of 3,487 votes to Wilson’s 666.

Still In Commission

With no Democratic challengers, incumbents Sue Jones and John Espy will return to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners for another four years. They will be joined by the current Carbon County Clerk, Gwynn Bartlett. Bartlett received 4,222 votes, Espy received 4,189 votes and Jones received 3,483.

Of Council

Beginning with Saratoga Town Council’s two four-year terms, incumbent Mike Cooley—who was elected to a two-year unexpired term in 2022—will serve another four years on the governing body with 590 votes. He will be joined by Cory Oxford, who received 586 votes. Chia Valdez received 201 votes.

For the two-year term, Bub Barkhurst will finish out the term he was appointed to with 557 votes. Sophia Borg received 275 votes. While there were 1,387 votes cast for the four-year terms, there were only 836 cast for the two-year term.

In Encampment, Susan Munson and Stas Banach received 150 and 135 votes, respectively. They will continue to serve on the Encampment Town Council. Dale Davis, who was nominated via write-in votes during the primary election received 124 votes.

Riverside will also see little change as Linda Brown received 43 votes and Mark Helwick received 29 votes for the two four-year terms on Riverside Town Council. Lisa Lorenz received 49 votes for the two-year unexpired term on Riverside’s governing body.

Back To School

In the only contested race in Carbon County School District No. 2, incumbent Paul Clark defeated challenger Aubrey Maughan by more than 300 votes. Clark received 1,196 votes while Maughan received 834 for Area 1. In Area 2, Georgia Miller received 2,174 votes, in Area 3, Joe Gaspari received 2,146 votes and in Area 4, Nick Wamsley received 2,015 votes.

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

When it came to taxes, Carbon County voters were split.

Constitutional Amendment A—which would create a separate residential class for property tax assessment—received 3,470 votes for the amendment in Carbon County with 2,362 voting against the amendment. Statewide, voters approved the amendment with 146,300 voting in favor and 100,375 voting against. It should be noted there were 24,261 undervotes, meaning voters did not fill either bubble on their ballot related to the constitutional amendment.

The Carbon County School District No. 1 Special Tax Assessment, which funds the Carbon County Higher Education Center, received 2,584 votes in support of continuation and 905 votes against.

Meanwhile, the Memorial Hospital of Carbon County Special Tax District was narrowly defeated with a difference of just 89 votes. A total of 1,759 voters were cast against the formation of a tax district with 1,670 votes cast in favor of the district. Only voters within the proposed boundaries of the district were able to vote for or against the formation of the district.

The Carbon County Clerk’s Office will be holding a post-election audit today, November 7, at 1 p.m at the Carbon Building - Courthouse Annex.