Layne Bangerter, Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman’s choice for running mate, ruled ineligible for candidacy
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UPDATE, 4:59 p.m.: The 3rd Judicial District Court has ruled that Layne Bangerter, the chosen running mate as lieutenant governor for Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman, is ineligible for candidacy.
Judge Bates ruled that the state constitution’s language mandates that in order to be eligible to run for lieutenant governor, one must be a resident of Utah for the five years preceding the election.
No further information is available at this time.
ORIGINAL POST: WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) — The 3rd Judicial District Court will hold a hearing at 1 p.m. today as Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman fights to keep his chosen running mate for lieutenant governor on the ballot.
ABC4.com will bring updates on that hearing through this post.
Governor hopeful Phil Lyman sues Utah over running mate’s eligibility
Lyman chose Layne Bangerter for his running mate shortly before winning the Republican Party’s nomination for governor last weekend. However, Bangerter allegedly does not meet the residency requirements to qualify for the race. Bangerter moved from Idaho to Utah in 2021. State laws note that a candidate for the race must have lived in Utah for five consecutive years prior to the election, meaning Bangerter would have needed to have moved here in 2019.
Lyman and Bangerter hope the matter moves quickly through the courts, as they want to be able to settle things before mail-in ballots are sent to voters in advance of the June 25 primary election. They claimed that ambiguous language in the state constitution would allow Bangerter to run.
Bangerter’s denial came at the recommendation of former Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell. Bell was selected in March to be an independent advisor for the governor’s race to help avoid election interference as current Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson was campaigning for re-election along with Gov. Spencer Cox.
“While it appears that Mr. Bangerter has been a resident of Utah at various times of his life, media has reported, and Mr. Bangerter has acknowledged, that he moved to Utah from Idaho in 2021, and that he has not been a resident of Utah for ‘five years next preceding the [2024] election,’” said Bell earlier this week.
Lyman and Bangerter sued the lieutenant governor’s office earlier this week. In today’s hearing, the two will ask Judge Matthew Bates for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, according to court documents. The pair are suing current Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson and Utah Director of Elections Ryan Cowley, specifically.
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