1998Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1998 election for Utah Senate District 7
Utah State Senate · Utah
Karen Hale (D) won with 50.3% of the vote, defeating David L. Buhler (R) by 3.6 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Karen HaleDemocrat · winner
50.3%12,462
David L. BuhlerRepublican · incumbent
46.7%11,577
Chris LarsenIndependent
1.9%461
Jim ElwellLibertarian
1.1%283
24,783 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1998
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Karen Hale (D)David L. Buhler (R)
Also on the ballot: Chris Larsen (Independent), 1.9%; Jim Elwell (Libertarian), 1.1%