If local supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton are still struggling with the national outcome of the Nov. 8 election, they might find some comfort in the fact that she’s gaining ground on Republican President-elect Donald J. Trump – in Grand County.
With 29 additional ballots now counted, Trump holds a mere two-vote lead locally over Clinton, who won the popular vote nationally but lost the Electoral College vote.
According to unofficial results from the Grand County Clerk’s Office, Trump led Clinton by 1,934 votes to 1,932 votes, or 42.77 percent to 42.72 percent.
Just over 100 provisional ballots remain to be counted, so one of the two candidates could still see their lead improve in Grand County.
The additional votes had no affect on local races for four seats on the Grand County Council.
Council members-elect Evan Clapper and Greg Halliday expanded their leads with three additional votes, as did Rachel Nelson, who lost the District 5 race to incumbent Rory Paxman. Paxman’s total count of 328 remains unchanged, while Halliday’s challenger Heather Jo White added four votes to her final count.
In the tightest race for outgoing council member Lynn Jackson’s At-Large District seat, council member-elect Curtis Wells received an additional 13 votes, while an additional 11 votes went to challenger Sarah Sidwell.
The Grand County Council was originally scheduled to canvass the local election results on Tuesday, Nov. 22. But the official canvass will now be held on Friday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m. inside the county council’s chambers, 125 E. Center St.
