Lyman vs. Cox, the race for Romney’s seat and more

Republican candidate for Utah governor Rep. Phil Lyman gives a speech at the Utah Republican Party’s 2024 nominating convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on April 27, 2024. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch)

Utah Republicans now know who they will see on their ballots for the state’s June 25 primary.

In the race for governor, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox will face Rep. Phil Lyman, who got the Utah Republican Party’s convention nomination. 

For outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney’s seat, there will be a four-way Republican contest between hardcore former President Donald Trump supporter Trent Staggs, Rep. John Curtis, former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and Jason Walton. 

For Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, Utah Sen. Mike Kennedy secured the party’s convention nomination, but he will join a crowded primary ticket of five with Utah Auditor John Dougall, Case Lawrence, JR Bird and Stewart Peay who all qualified for the June primary by signature gathering. 

For Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Celeste Maloy will face Colby Jenkins. 

For Utah’s 1st Congressional District, Rep. Blake Moore will face challenger Paul Miller. 

Those are some of the decisions thousands of Utah’s most ardent Republicans made (at least in part) when they spent all day Saturday packed into the Salt Palace Convention Center for their state nominating convention. The convention spanned a grueling 16 hours, from dawn until midnight — running hours over schedule thanks to multiple rounds of slow voting and no shortage of boos, especially for Cox, the sitting governor. 

More than 3,850 delegates cast votes that solidified which candidates will — and won’t — be on the June primary ballot, but in many cases candidates who didn’t clinch the party nomination had already secured their place on the primary ballot by gathering signatures. 

The dual path to the primary ballot is thanks to a 2014 law, SB54 — a measure that’s long been hated by Utah’s most far-right conservatives who believe party candidates’ only path to the ballot should be through convention.

Republican delegates applauded their candidates of choice, with a majority backing candidates that framed themselves as purist conservatives who detest SB54 and painted themselves as fighters rather than compromisers. 

Many delegates also favored candidates who proudly aligned themselves with Trump, in both style and policy. They also cheered rhetoric around securing the southern border, tamping down federal spending, and “draining the swamp,” a term Trump has used for disrupting what he and his supporters call establishment Washington, D.C., elites. 

Here are the highlights from Saturday’s convention, and which candidates will be advancing to the June 25 primary: 

Utah governor

Results: Rep. Phil Lyman got 67.5% of the Utah Republican vote, securing the convention nomination, while Gov. Spencer Cox got 32.5%. However, Cox qualified for the primary by gathering signatures, so they will face off again June 25.

Cox by far caught the brunt of the Utah Republican Party’s vitriol. He was booed from the moment he took the stage, though many of his supporters — twirling green “Cox for Governor” shirts in the air — did their best to challenge the sea of jeers with cheers. 

Cox met the boos with smiles, and told the crowd, “I love you guys.” 

He said it’s not the first time Utah Republican Party delegates have booed a sitting governor — pointing to his predecessor and former boss, Gov. Gary Herbert, among others — and noted convention outcomes often don’t mirror primary election results. 

“There are a whole bunch of people out there who want to get rid of this,” Cox said, referring to the convention. “They’re telling us that the caucus convention system has been hijacked by extremists who don’t represent the real Republicans in our state. I hope that we’re not giving them more ammunition today.” 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, to the right of the podium, appears on stage with supporters at the Utah Republican Party’s 2024 nominating convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on April 27, 2024. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch)

Throughout Saturday’s convention, Lyman’s supporters also cheered criticisms of Cox’s “disagree better” campaign, meant to discourage tribalism and political hatred. Cox questioned why members of his own party, at least those representing the far-right wing of the party that tend to participate in the state convention, were booing him. 

“Maybe you’re upset that I signed the largest tax cut in Utah history,” Cox said, listing off other highlights of his administration over the boos. “Maybe you hate that we stopped DEI and ESG and CRT. Or maybe it’s something much more simple. Maybe you just hate that I don’t hate enough.” 

Lyman, who took the stage to wild cheers, framed himself as a bulldog Republican ready to take on federal overreach while parading his 10-day stint in jail for leading an illegal ATV ride in protest on federally protected lands in 2014. In 2020, Trump pardoned Lyman for the conviction. 

“All of us have a feeling of what it’s like to be in prison,” Lyman said, referencing the state’s 2020 COVID-19 restrictions. He said the “business lockdowns felt like a prison to me.” 

“I don’t want to build prisons in Utah,” Lyman said. “I want to build roads. Roads that bring us opportunity.” 

Characterizing his contest with Cox as David vs. Goliath, Lyman garnered cheers while criticizing Cox and the Utah Legislature’s four years of tax cuts, asking delegates if they’ve felt any difference in their pocket books. They shouted “No!” He asked if they’ve felt rising property taxes, which was met with shouts of “Yes!” 

Lyman also criticized SB54 and signature gatherers as a strategy for well-resourced candidates to subvert the will of delegates. 

“Elections should be a way for us to control the government, not for wealthy people to control us,” Lyman said. “Let’s get rid of the prison sentence that started with SB54.” 

Sen. Mitt Romney’s open U.S. Senate seat

Results: Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs won the Republican convention nomination with over 69% of the vote to Rep. John Curtis’ 30.26% after several rounds of voting. 

Staggs was met with wild cheers and applause when he walked out onto the stage. He started his speech by saying he received a call from Trump at 6:30 a.m. to let him know he’d given Staggs his endorsement. 

It was news that likely buoyed Staggs, a longtime Trump supporter, over the crowded field of candidates. Staggs called himself a “fighter” — someone who won’t model outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney’s moderate style.

“Let’s replace Joe Biden’s favorite Republican in Utah with Donald Trump’s favorite Republican,” Staggs said, referring to Romney, to cheers. 

Though Curtis didn’t receive as many boos as Cox, he did confront his fair share when he took to the stage. Curtis addressed them head on. 

“Your message is clear,” he told delegates. “Your trust is broken.” 

Curtis argued Republicans had heard “naive” and empty promises throughout the convention from candidates that will make noise rather than work on solutions to fix Congress’ dysfunction. 

“If you send me to the Senate, you know what you’ll get,” Curtis said, promising “weight and substance, not hollow echoes.” 

Utah Congressional District 1

Results: Rep. Blake Moore (45%) and Paul Miller (54.9%) both advanced to the Republican primary. Derek Draper was eliminated in the first round of voting. 

Moore received some boos, though he urged Republicans to “stick together” this election in order to galvanize support for GOP candidates during the general election. 

“Let’s sweep the country in November,” Moore said. 

Miller took a hardline position as a staunch conservative. He criticized Republicans who agree to negotiate with Democrats. 

“I’m sick of seeing Republicans always compromising,” Miller said. “Compromising is morally and financially bankrupting our nation.” 

Utah Congressional District 2

Results: Incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy (43%) and Colby Jenkins (57%) both advanced to the June 25 primary. 

In a twist days before Saturday’s convention, Sen. Mike Lee snubbed Maloy and endorsed her challenger, Jenkins. Lee joined Jenkins on the stage when he gave his speech, parading his military background and promising to crack down on federal spending. 

Maloy said she hears delegates’ frustrations. “You are sick and tired of overreach from the federal government. So am I,” she said to cheers. 

Maloy got cheers when she briefly addressed Lee’s endorsement of Jenkins by saying she would not “bow down to anyone. … to the party, to leadership, to the media, or to a senator.” 

Maloy did not gather signatures so she was relying on delegates to keep her on the ballot. She narrowly avoided losing her seat by getting 43% of delegates’ vote, just 3% away from Jenkins securing the nomination if he won over 60%. 

U.S. Congressional District 3

Results: Utah Sen. Mike Kennedy secured the official party nomination by winning 61% of the vote after six lengthy rounds of voting that spanned over two hours. 

Kennedy urged delegates to support him as a “convention only” candidate who didn’t gather signatures. He drew on his background as a physician, and told delegates he doesn’t “give up on his patients” and “I won’t give up on America.”

“We can and will heal America,” Kennedy said. 

Kennedy also garnered applause when he pointed to his bill from the 2023 Utah Legislature that restricted transgender surgeries and medications for minors.

Delegates participate at the Utah Republican Party’s 2024 nominating convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on April 27, 2024. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch)

Attorney General

Results: Frank Mylar narrowly missed clinching the nomination by getting slightly less than 60% of the vote, with 59.8% to Rachel Terry’s 40.2%. 

• Derek Brown and Trent Christensen were eliminated in the first round of voting, but Brown qualified for the primary by gathering signatures.

• Brown, Mylar and Terry will be on the June primary ballot. 

State Auditor

Results: Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch led with 51.3% of the vote to Tina Cannon’s 48.7%. Both will advance to the June primary. 

State Senate

• District 8: Incumbent Sen. Todd Weiler, who already qualified for the June primary by gathering signatures, will face off with Ron Mortensen in June. Weiler got 52.85% of the delegate vote to Mortensen’s 47.15%.

• District 22: Incumbent Sen. Heidi Balderree won the Republican nomination at the convention. However, both of her challengers, Garrett Cammans and Emily Lockhart, have already qualified for the primary by gathering signatures. 

• District 24: For retiring Sen. Curt Bramble’s open seat, Keven Stratton led with 57% of the vote to former Sen. Dan Hemmert’s 43%. Former Rep. Brad Daw was eliminated. Hemmert and Stratton had already qualified for the primary anyway by gathering signatures. 

State House

Many Utah House races are uncontested or already decided on the county nominating level, but several multi-county races have drawn a field of Republican candidates. They include: 

• District 12: Incumbent House Speaker Mike Schultz won the Republican nomination with 72% of the vote. His challenger, Korry Green was eliminated. Schultz already guaranteed his place on the ballot by gathering signatures.

• District 66: In the race to replace outgoing Rep. Steven Lund, Troy Shelley got 58% of the vote to Brian Nielson’s 42%. Both advance to the June primary. Linda Hanks was eliminated. 

• District 67: Thomas Hansen got the Republican nomination with 87.7% of the vote to incumbent Rep. Christine Watkins’ 12.3%. Both will advance to the June primary because Watkins secured her spot on the primary ballot by gathering signatures.

• District 68: Incumbent Rep. Scott Chew got the Republican nomination with 72% of the vote. His challenger Kenyen Wilkins was eliminated with 28%. 

• District 69: For Rep. Phil Lyman’s open House seat, Lynn Jackson got 59.42% of the vote to Logan Monson’s 40.6%. Both advanced to the June primary. Jackson had already qualified for the primary ballot by gathering signatures. Douglas Heaton was eliminated in the first round of voting. 

State School Board

• District 3: Incumbent Brent Strate could have lost his seat had he not gathered signatures. He got only 24.5% of the vote to his challenger Rod Hall’s 75.48%. Both will face off again in June. 

• District 10: Incumbent Matt Hymas got 47.8% of the vote to his challenger Monica Wilbur, who got 52.2%. Both advance to the June primary. Camille Knudson was eliminated. 

• District 12: Incumbent James Moss was defeated by challenger Cole Kelley, who got 74% of the vote. Moss did not gather signatures and was eliminated. 

• District 15: Incumbent Kristan Norton lost to challenger Joann Brinton, who got 84.7% of the vote. However, Norton gathered signatures, so they both advanced to the primary. 

Utah Democratic Party primaries

The Utah Democratic Party also held its nominating convention on Saturday — though it was over much quicker and with far less drama than the GOP. 

The results for contested races: 

U.S. Senate: Caroline Gleich won the Democratic nomination with 795 votes to Laird Fetzer-Hamblin’s 48 votes and Archie Williams III’s 16 votes. 

Congressional District 4: Katrina Fallick-Wang won the nomination with 117 votes to Jonathan Lopez’s 59 votes. 

Attorney General:  Rudy Bautista won the nomination with 511 votes to David Carlson’s 282 votes. 

Utah House District 1: Claudia Bigler won with three votes, beating Chris Reid who didn’t get any votes. 

Utah House District 23: Hoang Nguyen and Jeff Howell will both advance to the primary, since both submitted signatures. But Nguyen got 39 votes to Howell’s 29 votes. 

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