Unsurprisingly, the 40% of votes counted in Summit County as of Wednesday morning — only a portion of the mail-in ballots — have leaned blue for the Legislature race for both Utah House District 4. Though that doesn’t appear to have made enough difference to upset the red votes in the other parts of the district.District 4, which includes east Summit County, Morgan County and Rich County, is a race between incumbent Republican State Rep. Kera Birkeland and Democrat Kris Campbell. While Summit County numbers slightly favored Campbell, the updates from Morgan and Rich counties as of Wednesday morning showed Birkeland pulling significantly ahead.So far, Birkeland leads the race at 9,503 votes or 62.59%, with Campbell sitting at 5,681 votes or 37.41%.Birkeland said her approach to the role is to run bills based on concerns her constituents bring to her. The legislation she’s sponsored includes a variety of issues such as the Division of Wildlife Resources doing work on private property, delayed unemployment benefits, misinterpreted adoption records and sexual assault cases. Her incumbent record also includes support for anti-transgender and anti-abortion bills. In 2021, Birkeland introduced a bill that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports in Utah, introduced a more strict bill against abortion in 2023 and was chief sponsor of a bill that created a transgender bathroom ban and passed earlier this year. Birkeland said during her campaign that development projects and affordable housing are major issues in District 4, particularly in rapidly growing areas like Kimball Junction and Garden City up by Bear Lake.Campbell’s campaign focused on issues like affordable housing, government transparency and environmental sustainability. He criticized the backhanded attempts of the Utah Legislature to take power from citizens and local governments. Throughout the campaign, Campbell also emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in the legislature. He promised to be a strong voice for constituents who feel left behind by a state government. Preliminary results in Summit County showed Campbell leading with 4,434 votes (54.1%) to Birkeland’s 3,762 votes (45.9%). As of Wednesday morning, Birkeland had a significant lead in Rich County — with 85.7% of the votes tallied (1,145) to Campbell’s 14.3% (191 votes) — as well as Morgan County with Birkeland at 81.32% (4,596 votes) to Campbell’s 18.88% (1,056 votes).The post Incumbent Utah House Rep. pulls ahead after results from Morgan, Rich counties appeared first on Park Record.