Utah Black Asks Primary Recount

Utah’s only black state senator wants a recount in his 323-vote loss in the Democratic primary to choose a challenger to Sen. Jake Garn, election officials said Wednesday.

State Sen. Terry Williams, who lost to real estate salesman Craig Oliver in Tuesday’s primary, said he may have lost votes because he is black and a non-Mormon in a state where less than 1% of the population is black and 70% is Mormon.

In Wyoming, former University of Wyoming vice president Pete Simpson won the Republican gubernatorial nomination by 554 votes over his nearest competitor in a field of seven. Democrats chose Casper lawyer Mike Sullivan.

Ed Herschler, Wyoming’s three-term Democratic governor, is retiring amid financial problems.

In the Utah race, with all 1,806 precincts tallied, Oliver had 14,735 votes or 51%, to 14,412 or 49% for Williams.

If Oliver retains the nomination, he faces a tough battle against Garn. The two-term Republican is head of the Senate Banking Committee and a former shuttle crew member who led Oliver by more than 50% in pre-primary polls.

In Wyoming, Simpson, brother of Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.), had 25,983 votes or 28% with all 474 precincts reporting. He was followed by Bill Budd, former executive vice president of the Wyoming Mining Assn., with 25,429 votes or 27%.