Moore wins 2nd District; Belmont unseats Thompson in Cache County

Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, won re-election in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, while an unaffiliated challenger unseated a Republican incumbent in Cache County’s House District 3 on Tuesday. 

The race was called for Moore after election night, defeating Democrat Peter Crosby.  

“I am incredibly grateful to the people of Utah’s 2nd Congressional District for the trust and support to continue serving as your voice in Washington. I look forward to working hard for everyone in our community. Thank you to Peter Crosby and the thoughtful campaign he and his team ran, as well as other candidates in the race,” Moore wrote in a statement to the Utah Statesman.  

In Cache County, Moore received 21,770 votes, or 53.08%, to Crosby’s 16,584, or 40.44%, according to unofficial results posted by the state, a margin of more than 5,000 votes. All 126 precincts had reported. Carlton E. Bowen of the Independent American Party, Libertarian Daniel Cottam and unaffiliated candidate Robert M. Moesinger together received roughly 6.5%. 

Crosby, who teaches at Utah State University, issued a comment to the Statesman on Wednesday as ballots were still being counted. 

“Showing up matters, and at the end of the day, we get the representation we vote for,” Crosby wrote. 

“It has been inspiring to see a resurgence in civic engagement across Northern Utah, and the students at Utah State have been part of it,” Crosby said. 

Nationally, Democrats won control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In Utah, Republicans lost their supermajority in the Legislature for the first time in 26 years. 

In Cache County’s House District 3, Patrick Belmont, an unaffiliated candidate, defeated incumbent Rep. Jason Thompson, R-Logan, in House District 3. Belmont received 6,205 votes, or 57.98%, to Thompson’s 4,497, or 42.02%. 

Belmont is also a Professor at USU.  

Belmont said in a statement that he was grateful to his volunteers and voters. 

“I am so proud of the campaign we ran. And excited to move on to do this important work for our community,” Belmont wrote. 

Thompson congratulated Belmont in his statement and said the seat never truly belonged to him. He said he tried to represent everyone in the district regardless of political affiliation. 

“It belongs to the people of House District 3. I was just trusted with it for a little while,” Thompson wrote. “Good ideas don’t care about party lines, and the issues facing our families don’t ask which box we checked on Election Day.”  

Thompson pointed to child care legislation, efforts to cut red tape in schools and his work on Utah’s Federalism Commission. 

“My time in the Legislature is ending, but my care for Cache Valley and my commitment to you are not,” Thompson wrote. 

Cache County Council voters also elected two Democrats in Logan, in races involving candidates the Statesman profiled before the election. In Logan Seat 2, Allison E. Goulais defeated Republican JoAnn Bennett, 58.47% to 41.53%. In Logan Seat 3, which includes the Utah State campus, Mark A. Nafziger, who works in counseling and prevention services at USU, defeated Republican Sandi R. Goodlander, 57.48% to 42.52%. 

Republican Mark R. Hurd won Northeast Seat 5 over Democrat Lizette Villegas, 63.13% to 36.87%. In Southeast Seat 7, Republican Kathryn A. Beus defeated Peter Thatcher of the Constitution Party, 78.45% to 21.55%. 

Other legislative races in the county were also decided. Republican Scott Sandall won State Senate District 1 with 68.09%, defeating Democrat Claudia Bigler and Julie Quinlan of the Forward Party. In the State House, Republicans Mike Petersen won District 2 and Casey Snider won District 5, while Republican Thomas Peterson won the Cache County portion of District 1. Republican Jennie Earl won State School Board District 1 over Democrat Cathy Callow-Heusser. 

Belmont won by 1,708 votes. Republican Bryson J. Behm won county clerk over David R. Gillie of the Constitution Party, 78.69% to 21.31%. 

Four countywide offices were uncontested. N. George Daines won county executive/surveyor, J. Brett Chambers won county attorney, Matthew Funk won county auditor and D. Chad Jensen won county sheriff. All are Republicans. 

Cache County School Board and Logan City School Board seats were decided in nonpartisan races. Roger Pulsipher, Randall T. Bagley and Teri Rhodes won seats on the Cache County board in Districts 2, 4 and 7. On the Logan City board, Russell Fisher ran unopposed in District 3 and Karlee Fryer won District 5. 

Voters in the county also retained every judge on the ballot, including Utah Supreme Court Justice Jill M. Pohlman, who received 79.63% yes votes. 

The Utah Statesman will continue to follow results as the county finishes counting ballots. Results are unofficial until the county canvass is complete.