Former NFL star Burgess Owens appears to be headed to Congress in Utah's 4th Congressional District Race, with his lead over Democrat challenger Rep. Ben McAdams, the only Democrat in the state's federal delegation, last reported at 2,095 votes.
The lead appears solid, as there are a few thousand outstanding ballots left to be counted in the race, whose official canvass is Tuesday, reports The Salt Lake Tribune.
President Donald Trump has already congratulated Owens, who is now a Fox News contributor, commenting on Twitter:
"Great going Burgess, you continue to be a STAR!"
McAdams had taken an early lead in the race on Election Day and held on to it for much of the week, but Owens overtook him last Saturday and held the lead all this week and currently has a narrow lead of 47.5% to McAdams' 46.93%.
Owens performed better in Utah, Juab, and Sanpete counties, with McAdams getting the most votes in Salt Lake County, where he was county mayor before he was elected to Congress. McAdams is a one-term incumbent.
McAdams' advantage has also dropped over the past few days. He had been averaging 54% of the vote there, but Friday had 51.69% to Owens' 42.66% in the county.
The race was also splintered by two third-party candidates, with libertarian John Molnar gathering 3.44% of the vote and United Utah Party candidate Jania Broderick getting 2.12% of the vote.
According to Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen on Thursday, there remained a possibility more than 13,000 ballots could be added, but most of them expanded Owens' lead.
Another 1,964 ballots that came in without a signature – or with signatures that couldn't be matched – are left in Salt Lake County, and voters will have until 5 p.m. local time Monday to resolve them.
If Owens' lead holds, he will join businessman Blake Moore as a new member of the Utah delegation. Moore replaces retiring Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, who did not seek reelection.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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