Challenger Jeff Gray takes early lead over incumbent David Leavitt to be the next Utah County attorney

Leavitt has been an advocate for criminal justice reform, while his challenger has a more conservative view on the role of a top prosecutor.

Utah County Attorney David Leavitt appears to be losing his bid for reelection against Republican challenger Jeff Gray, according to unofficial returns Tuesday evening — an early indication that Utah County voters may not support Leavitt’s focus on reforming the criminal justice system.

Early in the count, Gray has received 72% of the votes so far, nearly 39,000 ballots, while Leavitt received 14,970 votes — just 27%.

The next Utah County attorney will be decided in Tuesday’s Republican primary election, because there is no Democrat running for the top prosecutor job.

Gray, who currently works at the Utah attorney general’s office, has a conservative view of the role of a top prosecutor, saying he will hold criminals accountable and “charge them based on what the evidence supports.” Leavitt has been unapologetic about his efforts to change the criminal justice system, telling The Salt Lake Tribune when he came into office in 2019 that he would reform the system — or fail trying.

He has cut down the number of felony cases his office has prosecuted and put in place a pre-filing diversion program where people arrested for minor, non-violent crimes can stay out of the criminal justice system and instead are connected to resources. Leavitt says he plans to continue moving away from offering plea bargains and taking more cases to trial.

But he’s received vocal pushback from political opponents — former prosecutors, legislators and law enforcement officials — who’ve criticized his decision-making in the last four years, particularly the move to disband the special victims unit in 2020.

Voters may have also been swayed by the bizarre turn that this local county attorney race took earlier this month, after Leavitt held a news conference to deny allegations that he was involved in cannibalism or a ritualistic child sex abuse ring.

Leavitt called reporters to a news conference on June 1 to decry an investigation by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, which had announced the day prior that it was investigating a ritual sex abuse ring. The sheriff’s office didn’t name Leavitt — or anyone else — as suspects, but the county attorney said his name was in an unverified witness report connected to the sheriff’s investigation.

Leavitt said he found the timing of the announcement suspicious since Sheriff Mike Smith has been at odds with him since he took office in 2019 and had endorsed his opponent in the race.

The sheriff denied the investigation was politically motivated.

Gray had endorsements from several high-profile law enforcement officials, including Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, and the support of a PAC backed by the Utah Sheriffs’ Association, which has targeted Leavitt in the weeks leading up to the election.

Leavitt out-fundraised Gray, receiving more than $400,000 in campaign funds compared to Gray’s nearly $52,000. Much of Leavitt’s recent donations came from the Just Trust, a nonprofit organization that advocates for criminal justice reform and is largely funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

This is the first time Gray has run for public office. He said he felt compelled to do so after he believed many of Leavitt’s reforms have lost focus on victims and community safety.

Leavitt is in his first term as Utah County attorney. He had an unsuccessful bid for Utah Attorney General in 2020, where he lost in the primary against Reyes, and previously served as Juab County attorney for eight years in the late 1990s.

This story will be updated as more results are reported.

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