S.L. County voters reject Gunnarson, give Callaghan nod

Salt Lake County voters offered up some surprises in Tuesday's GOP primary election.

Voters rejected incumbent District Attorney Neal Gunnarson by a substantial margin and gave incumbent County Commissioner Mary Callaghan the nomination nod - but only after subjecting her to the race of her life. Mark Shurt-leff outdistanced Steve Harmsen in the other commissioner race, according to complete but unofficial results.Political newcomer Mark Griffin defeated Gunnarson in the district attorney primary. Gunnarson's decision not to prosecute Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini in the so-called "Giftgate" case prompted Griffin's decision to run.

"I feel like that case should have gone forward," he said Tuesday.

During the campaign, Gunnarson stood by his decision in the Corradini matter, saying an advisory committee of experienced prosecutors, investigators and law professors unanimously agreed it was a nonprosecutable case.

He offered only a brief statement Tuesday: "My one and only comment is a sincere congratulations to Mr. Griffin."

Griffin will face Democrat David E. Yocom, a former Salt Lake County attorney, in November.

Callaghan's advantage in absentee ballots spelled the difference in her race against challenger Wendy Smith, putting her over the top by a minuscule 153 votes out of 37,411 cast - 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent.

The race was, in the words of Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, "a cliffhanger." The two ran neck-and-neck all night long, and the final results of regular balloting showed Smith the winner by a 113-vote margin. But the absentee ballots, added on afterward, doomed Smith to failure - by a whisker. It's the first election Swensen can remember that has been decided by absentee balloting.

Callaghan's take on the night: "We've been up and down and around, a little numb and dizzy and light-headed - and now we're a little better. I've been involved in elections for 19 years, and I've never seen one this close.

"It would have to be my own," she added with a laugh.

Smith said she has no plans to ask for a recount. She would likely have had to pay for it since, in a primary election, there is no provision for an automatic recount absent allegations of fraud or error in each precinct.

Callaghan will face Democrat Karen Crompton in the general election.

In the other commission seat race, Harmsen took an early lead in the results against Shurtleff, but that lead got whittled away as the evening wore on. Shurtleff eventually took the lead and never relinquished it.

"I'm on cloud nine," Shurtleff said after it was all over. "I was sweating bullets there in the early returns. It was a rollercoaster ride. It was better than any Jazz game."

He will face Democrat Mike Reberg in November.