Salt Lake City mayoral candidates Luz Escamilla and Erin Mendenhall debate at the Triad Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. Photo: Scott G. WInterton, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. Luz Escamilla conceded the race for Salt Lake City mayor Wednesday after early results showed city council member Erin Mendenhall with a commanding lead.
In a statement posted to Escamilla’s website, the senator wrote that the campaign did not know how many ballots still needed to be counted last night. But today, Escamilla said the Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office reported just 9,744 ballots remained outstanding, far fewer than the campaign estimated.
“I just congratulated Erin,” Escamilla wrote on the website. “We had a good conversation and I wished her the best of luck as our city’s next mayor.”
The latest available results show Mendenhall carrying 58.6% of the vote to Escamilla’s 41.4%.
Escamilla said she intends to finish her term as state senator.