SALT LAKE CITY — Incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox will serve another four years in office, according to the Associated Press, which called Utah’s gubernatorial race for him and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson Tuesday night after polls closed.

Ballots are still being counted, but the Republican ticket of Cox and Henderson opened up a strong lead over Democrat Brian King — a state representative from Salt Lake City — and his running mate Rebekah Cummings as the first preliminary results were posted online. The AP called the race for Cox at 10:29 p.m. after preliminary results were delayed until after 10 p.m. due to long lines at polling places in several counties.

Support for Cox sat at 56.51% as of 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, with King at nearly 31% and state Rep. Phil Lyman’s write-in campaign garnering just shy of 8%. About 54% of the votes have been counted statewide, according to AP.

The governor called Tuesday “a great night for the state of Utah,” while speaking to supporters on the steps of the Governor’s Mansion, according to Deseret News. Cox said he received a call from King, and “it was incredibly kind and gracious.”

“We were not just elected to represent people who voted for us,” he said, promising to listen to everyone.

“We came up a little short in this race this year,” King told supporters at an election night party at Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake City.

He said the campaign has been about “standing up for the values that define who we are as Utahns, service, family, freedom, democracy and common sense.”

“I got into this race because Utah deserves better,” King added.

Lyman did not respond to a request for comment.

Cox entered the night as a heavy favorite in the Beehive State, but the final margins will be closely watched after Lyman refused to concede to Cox after losing the GOP primary and launched a write-in campaign for governor instead. Democrats hoped Lyman would play spoiler for King, but Cox managed to hold on to enough of the Republican coalition to see him through Election Night.

“Running for office is hard and I’m grateful to everyone who is willing to run in any capacity,” Cox said on his personal X account before polls closed on Tuesday. “Utah is a special place and I admire the passion of every candidate and voter who works to make it better. Thank you to Rep. King and Rep. Lyman for your willingness to run. And please remember that our country is bigger and stronger than any one person. No matter what happens tonight, the United States will continue to be the greatest nation in the history of the world.”

Republicans are boasting strong showings in several other statewide races for attorney general, auditor and treasurer. Derek Brown appears on track to replace Sean Reyes as attorney general while Tina Cannon leads the state auditor race with over 61% of the vote. State Treasurer Marlo Oaks leads in his reelection race with over 60%.

Preliminary results are still coming in after polls closed; the latest updates are available below.

This story will be updated.

Contributing: Hanna Seariac, Lisa Riley Roche