Top takeaways from Utah’s 2024 Republican State Convention, including Gov. Spencer Cox losing the nomination

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — In a day that started three hours late and nearly crossed into the next morning, the Utah Republican Party gave its endorsement to dozens of candidates Saturday from the Salt Palace.

NOTE: This story below is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all the nominations awarded today. The link below this paragraph, which features all the races up for election this year, will be updated as events unfold.

Who is running for office in Utah in 2024?

Under the Utah Republican Party’s bylaws, a candidate cannot receive the party convention’s sole nomination unless they garner over 60% of delegate votes. If no candidate crosses the 60% mark, the last two candidates remaining progress to the June 25 primary automatically.

The convention, however,is only one way to make it onto the ballot. Candidates had the chance to garner their party’s nomination today but could still force their way onto the ballot by collecting enough signatures. As such, there are some candidates who were only “convention candidates,” meaning they had not collected signatures, and were hoping to get enough votes during the convention to progress their campaign. A

ny candidates who received enough verified signatures automatically make the primary.

UTAH GOVERNOR — Cox loses nomination

Incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox came out to a mixed reaction and a large amount of booing before his first round of voting, but he mostly seemed to laugh it off. It might have been because he already had enough signatures to make the primary, regardless of the convention. However, he claimed to abandon his pre-written remarks to point out that a large number of Utah Republican luminaries had also been booed at previous state conventions.

“Gov. [Gary] Herbert got booed here and lost by 10 points, but won by 40 points in the Republican primary,” said Cox, which won him some cheering. “Gov. [Mike] Leavitt got booed here, lost the convention, won in the primary. You booed [U.S. Sen.] Orrin Hatch, you booed [Gov.] Norman Bangerter, you even booed the president of the General Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2000.”

While he went on to defend his record, he responded to criticisms of his “Disagree Better” campaign — which aims to reduce bipartisan polarization, saying ,”But maybe you hate that I don’t hate enough.”

Cox survived that round of voting, coming in second place behind challenger Phil Lyman.

• Phil Lyman: 44.24%

• Spencer Cox: 28.86%

• T. Carson Jorgensen 25.80% (eliminated, no signatures submitted)

• Scott Robbins 0.56% (eliminated, no signatures submitted)

• Sylvia Fiera Fisk: 0.53% (eliminated, no signatures submitted)

Cox lost the nomination outright, however in the second round of voting. He and Lyman will face off in the primary in June.

• Phil Lyman: 67.54%

• Spencer Cox: 32.46%

The party also ratified Layne Bangerter as Lyman’s running mate for lieutenant governor. Current Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson retains her running mate status on Cox’s ticket.

U.S. SENATE — 4-candidate race for June, Staggs nominated

This race to replace Sen. Mitt Romney was set for a primary challenge before the convention even started, as John Curtis, Jason J. Walton, and Brad Wilson have already obtained enough signatures to be on the ballot. Another seven candidates attempted to win the party nomination Saturday night.

The first round of voting ended with three candidates being eliminated, none of whom had enough signatures to make the ballot: Josh Randall, Brian Jenkins, and Jeremy Friedbaum. Trent Staggs, meanwhile, who accepted an endorsement from former Pres. Donald Trump this week, led the pack. U.S. Rep. John Curtis followed in at nearly half Staggs’ total.

In the second round, delegates denied Brent Orrin Hatch and Chandler Tanner a place on the ballot. Neither of them have enough signatures, though Hatch had at least attempted to gather some. In the third round, three more challengers fell: Carolyn Phippen, Brad Wilson, and Jason Walton, none of whom crossed 10%.

That left Curtis and Staggs to duke it out for the nomination:

• Trent Staggs: 69.74%

• John Curtis: 30.26%

U.S. HOUSE DIST. 1 — Moore trails primary challenger

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Blake Moore came in second in his attempt to clinch his party’s nomination this evening, but he will still be on the ballot on June 25. Moore is the only candidate who received enough signatures to guarantee his spot.

Moore will now face Paul Miller as a challenger this summer. A third candidate, Derek Draper, was eliminated in the first round of voting and does not have the signatures to continue his race. Neither did Miller, but he held on for a second-round win, forcing Moore into a primary challenge:

• Paul Miller: 54.86%

• Blake Moore: 45.14%

U.S. HOUSE DIST. 2 — Maloy survives without signatures

U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy was sworn into office almost exactly five months ago to fill the unexpired portion of her former boss’s term. She’s had to immediately launch back into campaign mode, trying to win her first full term in office. Unlike a number of incumbents, however, she has not gathered the necessary signatures to force her way onto the ballot. In fact, none of the candidates in this have, which made today’s convention a bit of a high-wire act for this race. Without signatures, the convention vote could have been a winner-takes-all proposition.

To add to that, a twist erupted earlier this morning in this three-way race as candidate Ty Jensen ended his campaign to endorse challenger Colby C. Jenkins. Jenkins also landed U.S. Sen. Mike Lee’s endorsement on Friday, setting up a last-minute convention showdown.

Strategies aside, Jenkins and Maloy will continue to face off throughout the summer, as neither crossed the needed 60% this evening, triggering a primary between the two.

• Colby Jenkins: 56.85%

• Celeste Maloy: 43.15%

U.S. HOUSE DIST. 3 — Kennedy cuts field in half over six rounds

In one of the day’s largest races, delegates had a bit of work to do in narrowing a 10-candidate field to replace Rep. John Curtis, who is running for U.S. Senate. It would take six rounds of voting before delegates chose Mike Kennedy for the nomination.

Regardless of the convention, four candidates in the race had already gathered signatures to advance to the primary: J.R. Bird, Case Lawrence, Stewart Peay, and John “Frugal” Dougall. Kennedy will join them on the ballot in June.

In first-round voting, delegates eliminated Lucky Bovo and Case Lawrence. In the second round, only Chris Herrod was eliminated. The third round of voting saw Dougall removed, while Katherine Dahlin and Peay followed in round 4. By the fifth round, J.R. Bird had fallen by the wayside.

Kennedy, meanwhile, held the top spot in each round, even falling one vote short of winning in round 5. In the final round against Zac Wilson, Kennedy finally secured the 60% needed to claim the nomination.

• Mike Kennedy: 61.51%

• Zac Wilson: 38.49%

STATE SEN. DIST. 8 — Weiler forced into primary

While incumbent Sen. Todd Weiler already had enough signatures to make the primary race, he will have a fellow Republican challenger on the ballot after he failed to reach the 60% threshold for the party’s nomination. Challenger Ronald Mortensen will also make the primary while challenger Brady Tracy received zero votes from delegates.

• Todd Weiler: 52.85%

• Ronald Mortensen: 47.15%

• Brady Tracy: 0%

Weiler has held the seat since 2012.

UTAH ATTORNEY GENERAL — Three-way primary

Of the four GOP candidates who lined up to replace outgoing Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, three will advance to the primary: Frank Demcy Mylar, Rachel Terry and Derek Brown.

Frank Demcy Mylar fell less than one percentage point away from obtaining the party’s nomination outright after two rounds of voting.

• Frank Demcy Mylar: 59.76%

• Rachel Terry: 40.24%

Since Mylar did not technically receive 60% of the vote, both he and Terry will advance to the primary. Candidate Derek Brown will also advance, however, as he has obtained enough signatures to make the ballot, despite placing last in the first round of voting.

Fourth candidate Trent Christensen was eliminated in the first round of ranked-choice voting.

UTAH STATE AUDITOR — Both candidates advance

Both of the Republican candidates for the state auditor’s office will progress to the primary after neither candidate garnered 60% of the vote.

• Ricky Hatch: 51.3% (1,933 votes)

• Tina Cannon: 48.6% (1,834 votes)

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