Democrat Shana Anderson led Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore by roughly 14 points in unofficial election night returns from Senate District 19, the state Senate seat covering Cottonwood Heights and Holladay.

As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, with 47% of the district reporting, Anderson had 57.03% of the vote (14,734 votes) to Cullimore's 42.97% (11,100 votes), ABC4 reported. Utah News Dispatch tallied Anderson at 56.74% (16,321 votes) and Cullimore at 43.26% (12,446 votes) in its election night results.

The results are preliminary. More than 100,000 ballots dropped off on Election Day in Salt Lake County alone still need to be verified and counted, Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman told FOX 13 News. Chapman said new legislative requirements for signature and ID verification slow that process. Results will not be final until the county and state canvass, which Utah News Dispatch reported takes place in two weeks.

If Anderson's lead holds, it would unseat one of the most powerful Republicans in the Utah Legislature. Cullimore has served as Senate Majority Leader since January 2025, according to Ballotpedia, and was first elected to the Utah Senate in 2018. He serves on more than 20 legislative committees, ABC4 reported.

Cullimore had also been considered a leading candidate for Senate President after current Senate President Stuart Adams lost his June primary to Stephanie Hollist. Political insiders described the Senate President race between Cullimore and Sen. Evan Vickers of Cedar City as a toss-up, ABC4 reported in October.

Anderson, a U.S. Army and Utah Army National Guard veteran, is an economist and teacher with no prior experience in public office, according to ABC4. She made public education a key campaign focus alongside accountability, housing and water issues.

District 19 covers the southeast part of Salt Lake County and parts of northeast Utah County, according to ABC4.

The SD-19 race is part of a broader shift across the Utah Legislature on election night. Utah News Dispatch reported that preliminary results showed at least 15 Republican state lawmakers on track to lose to Democrats and one unaffiliated candidate. If those results hold, Democrats may have broken the Republican supermajority in the Utah House, though not in the Senate, according to Utah News Dispatch.

Utah GOP Chair Rob Axson, speaking from the party's watch party in Draper, told Utah News Dispatch he expects legislative races to "change dramatically" as more votes are tallied. He acknowledged "it's a very difficult election year" for Republicans but stopped short of saying a national Democratic wave had reached Utah.

No public statements from Cullimore or Anderson about the SD-19 results appeared in available reporting as of publication.

Election results will not be certified until the canvass is complete. Salt Lake County's next batch of updated results was expected no earlier than Thursday, Nov. 5, according to FOX 13 News.