Candidacy filings for the 2026 general election opened last week, with the declaration window set to close at 5 p.m. on Thursday. In Summit County, key races appearing on the ballot include the county auditor, sheriff, attorney, clerk and two County Council positions. Two seats for each school b oard within the county — the Park City School Board, North Summit School Board and South Summit School Board — will also be decided by voters in November. This year will be the first time that County Council candidates are restricted to a district rather than campaigning for an at-large position. Specifically, the two seats on the 2026 ballot are  District 4, which encompasses the Snyderville Basin, and District 5, which includes the Jeremy Ranch and Pinebrook areas. Chris Robinson, who currently represents District 4 and has served on the County Council for almost two decades, recently announced he will not seek reelection. So far, two candidates — attorney Christie Babalis and former Snyderville Basin Planning Commission chair John Kucera — have filed to run in Robinson’s place. Babalis and Kucera both filed as Democrats. Summit County Council Vice Chair Canice Harte, who represents District 5, will run for reelection, though. He will face off against challenger Meredith Reed, a local real estate agent who currently serves as the president of the Park City Board of Education. Both Harte and Reed are also Democrats. The local Democratic Party will hold a caucus this spring to determine whether one of the Democratic candidates in each race has the majority support from caucus voters. If so, then only one candidate will advance and be placed on the November ballot. If the caucus is unable to come to a consensus, then a traditional primary election will be held to narrow the playing field. Summit County Auditor Cindy Keyes and County Attorney Maragaret Olson are also running for reelection in 2026, with no one filing to run against them as of Monday morning. Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates is expected to announce an election campaign soon as well, but she had not filed the paperwork with the County Clerk’s Office by the start of the week. Bates was selected by the local Democratic Party to replace former Sheriff Frank Smith, who retired at the end of 2025. At the time of her nomination, Bates said she intended to run to secure the position for another four years in the 2026 election. No one else has declared their candidacy for sheriff, either. The Summit County Clerk’s Office, which handles business licensing and administers elections, will see a change in 2026, no matter the election’s outcome. Eve Furse, who has served as the clerk since 2021, said she plans to retire after her term ends this year. Two candidates with experience in local politics — Malena Stevens and Suni Woolstenhulme — have already announced their own campaigns for county clerk. Stevens previously served on the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission and Summit County Council, and Woolstenhulme was a member of the South Summit school board for eight years. Based on preliminary filings Monday morning, no one has yet declared an intent to run for the two open positions on the South Summit school board in 2026. Park City school board Vice President Nick Hill has filed for reelection, though. So has North Summit school board member Kevin Orgill. Russell Hendry is also running for one of the two open North Summit school board positions. There will also be federal and state elections in addition to local elections on the November ballot. Federally, there will only be one open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives’ third congressional district. However, there will be multiple positions open at the state level: District 20 in the Utah Senate, Districts 4, 23, 59 and 68 in the Utah House of Representatives and one seat on the Utah Board of Education. Two Utah Supreme Court judges, six court of appeals judges, four district court judges and four juvenile court judges will also stand for a retention election. The post Summit County’s candidacy filing window closes Thursday appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less