Democrats find strong support in Salt Lake County races

SALT LAKE CITY — Democrats running for office in Salt Lake County are entering the final stretch of campaigning in an enviable position, according to a new poll of notable county races.

Democratic candidates for district attorney, sheriff and clerk all hold leads over their Republican counterparts, according to a Dan Jones & Associates poll conducted this week for the Deseret News and KSL-TV.

In the tightest of the three races, 41 percent of respondents said they would vote for Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill if the election for district attorney were held today, compared with 36 percent who said they would vote to re-elect Lohra Miller.

The poll shows Sheriff Jim Winder with a comfortable advantage in his bid for re-election, leading 51 percent to 35 percent over Beau Babka, a Cottonwood Heights police officer who previously served as undersheriff to Winder.

And 62 percent of those polled said they would vote to re-elect longtime Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, compared with the 26 percent who said they would vote for Jeremy Votaw.

Pollsters interviewed 426 Salt Lake County residents who voted in either the 2008 general election, 2010 primary election or both. The poll has a 4.8 percent margin of error.

The only Republican holding an advantage in the four countywide races polled is former GOP state chairman Richard Snelgrove, who leads Democrat Holly Mullen by 9 percentage points in the race for an at-large seat on the County Council, according to the poll.

The number of voters favoring Democrats is made more impressive by the fact that just 24 percent of respondents said they think of themselves as Democrats. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they consider themselves Republicans, and 33 percent labeled themselves independent voters.

Snelgrove called the poll results "encouraging."

"We've been working hard, and we'll keep working hard right to the end," the small-business owner said.

Forty-four percent of respondents said they would vote for Snelgrove if the election were held today, while 35 percent said they preferred Mullen, a longtime Utah journalist. Sixteen percent remain undecided, according to the poll.

"If half the undecideds break my way, we should be in good shape on election night," Snelgrove said.

Mullen, too, was encouraged by the results, saying she expects the race to be close right up to Election Day.