SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A hard-fought House race remained too close to call amid reports of long voting lines in a Republican-leaning county late Tuesday, hours after Mitt Romney cruised to victory in his bid for a Senate seat.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love was trailing her Democratic challenger Ben McAdams, but many votes in her stronghold of Utah County remained uncounted at the end of the night.
Both candidates said they were hopeful as they made brief appearances at election night parties.
“It is not over, but everything is looking good,” McAdams said in a late-night speech. “I think it’s going to take a few days before we know the outcome of the election, but if we win, this will be a win for people over politics.”
The enthusiastic crowd, chanted, “Ben! Ben! Ben!”
Earlier in the night, his supporters smiled and posed in front of a cardboard cutout of the Salt Lake County mayor and former state lawmaker at a Democratic election night party in Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, at Love’s election night party south of Salt Lake City, kids played with orange and white balloons that decorated the hotel conference room as their parents waited for results.
Love, the only black Republican woman in Congress, drew cheers from supporters when she made a quick appearance.
“It’s going to be a long night. A very long night. It always is,” Love said. “But we’re here for it. We’re up to the task and I believe that it’s looking really good for us.”
Spokeswoman Sasha Clark says some voters waited three hours or more to cast their ballots.
The state’s other three Republican congressmen — Rob Bishop, John Curtis and Chris Stewart — easily won re-election bids.
