Sunderland, Romney

win Republican primary

  MANTI—Edwin Sunderland, a prominent farmer and long-time chairman of the Sanpete County Water Conservancy District, won the Republican nomination for Sanpete County Commission Tuesday, which almost assures election to the commission itself.

                Sunderland, of Chester, defeated Justin Atkinson, an engineer and Mt. Pleasant city councilman, 55 to 45 percent. Sunderland got 2,205 votes and Atkinson 1,789.

                Sunderland faces no Democratic Party opposition, and with the county being overwhelmingly Republican, he is almost certain to win in November.

                Sanpete voters also supported former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney over Utah legislator Mike Kennedy for U.S. Senate, although the Sanpete margin for Romney was 5 percent below his statewide margin.

                In Sanpete, Romney got 67 percent to 33 percent for Kennedy. Romney got 2,758 votes, while Kennedy came out with 1,363.

                As of about 11 p.m., with all counties except Duchesne and San Juan reporting, Romney had 72 percent statewide to 28 percent for Kennedy.

                Many regarded Kennedy as more conservative than Romney, so his higher margin in Sanpete undoubtedly reflects the philosophical bent of the county.

                Sanpete County Clerk Sandy Neill reported 4,132 votes had been cast out of 7,630 eligible Republicans, for a 54 percent turnout.