Summit County candidate filings begin taking shape for 2026 election

A map of Summit County's newly approved districts. The two districts. Photo: TownLift

COALVILLE, Utah — Summit County voters will choose county offices, school board seats, and several state legislative positions that include parts of the county in the Nov. 3, 2026, regular general election, according to the county’s posted notice of election.

The notice lists the Summit County offices on the 2026 ballot as County Council District 4 and District 5, county attorney, county auditor, county clerk, and county sheriff, along with six local school board seats across the Park City, North Summit, and South Summit districts.

As of Friday, Jan. 9 — the day after the Jan. 8 filing deadline for qualified political party candidates and local school board candidates — Summit County’s filed-candidate list shows contested Democratic primaries for both County Council seats up this year. In Council District 4, Christie Babalis and John Kucera have filed. In Council District 5, Canice Harte and Meredith Reed have filed.

In countywide races, the list shows that Margaret Olson has filed for county attorney and Cindy Keyes has filed for county auditor. For county clerk, Malena Stevens (Democratic) and Suni Woolstenhulme (Republican) have filed, and Kacey Bates has filed for county sheriff.

Several school board seats drew multiple candidates, while others had one candidate listed as of Jan. 9. In North Summit School Board seat 4, Kevin Orgill and Rene Potter have filed, and in North Summit seat 5, Russell Hendry, Eric Cylvick, and Kari Koyle have filed. In Park City School Board seat 4, Denise Andrews has filed, and in Park City seat 5, Nick Hill has filed. In South Summit seat 4, Matthew Weller has filed, and in South Summit seat 5, Ty Metcalf has filed.

The county notice also lists several state-level races that include parts of Summit County: Utah Senate District 20, Utah House districts 4, 23, 59, and 68, and State Board of Education District 1. In those multi-county contests, the state’s candidate-filings list — last updated 7 p.m. Jan. 8 — shows two filed candidates in Senate District 20 (Annette McRae of the Forward Party and Ronald M. Winterton, a Republican), five in House District 4, five in House District 23, five in House District 59, two in House District 68, and two in State School Board District 1.

Congressional candidates for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District are expected to file later, according to state election information, which notes that congressional candidates will file in March.

The Summit County notice also anticipates judicial retention elections for Utah appellate courts and for district and juvenile court judges in the 3rd Judicial District, provided that incumbents file for retention during the judicial filing period.