Salt Lake City Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall leads state Sen. Luz Escamilla in the capital’s closely watched mayoral race, according to the first ballot results released Tuesday night.
Mendenhall led by a margin of more than 5,700 votes as of the first round of ballots, bringing in 18,886 votes to Escamilla’s 13,123. Ballots were expected to drop throughout the evening.
During the general election race, in which the mayoral hopefuls participated in more than a dozen debates, both candidates have articulated progressive visions for the city — but each has positioned herself as the person best qualified to lead the capital forward.