Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis poses with his family at a primary election watch party in Provo on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The Associated Press has called the Utah primary race for U.S. Senate for Curtis. (Nathan Beitler for Utah News Dispatch)
Utah’s Republican primary election has been called for Rep. John Curtis in the four-way race to take Mitt Romney’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
Curtis had 51% of the vote at 10:15 p.m. He is followed by Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs with 29%. The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m.
Former House Speaker Brad Wilson had 14%, and businessman Jason Walton had 6%.
Awaiting the winner this November is Caroline Gleich, professional mountaineer and environmental activist, who won the Democratic nomination in April. Gleich will have a steep hill to climb, however, as bright red Utah hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since the ’70s.
Gleich’s campaign issued a statement after the race was called, welcoming Curtis to the general election ballot. Gleich criticized Curtis as a status-quo candidate who has “a worse environmental voting record in Congress than Senator Mike Lee.”
“At a time when much of the United States is experiencing dangerous, record-breaking heat, we deserve a leader who will address the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. His Conservative Climate Caucus is a fossil fuel-funded delay tactic and delay is the new denial,” Gleich said.
Also on the ballot is Carlton Bowen, Independent American Party of Utah, and Democrat Laird Hamblin, who is running a write-in campaign.
Like other statewide races playing out in Utah’s primary election, the Senate contest is a tug-of-war between the establishment arm of the state’s Republican party and a more strident faction preferring former President Donald Trump’s style of politics.
At the party’s convention in April, 69% of delegates chose Trump-endorsed Staggs over Curtis after several rounds of voting. Curtis, Walton and Wilson secured their spots in the primary through signature gathering.
Curtis — who makes no secret of his belief that conservatives can care about the environment, too — presented himself in a debate earlier this month as an experienced and pragmatic leader who knows how to work with both moderates in Congress and the former president, should he return to the White House.
Meanwhile, Stags made it clear he’s ready to support Trump, including repeating unproven claims that the previous election was plagued by fraud, and promised to fight establishment politics in Washington.
Wilson and Walton also expressed support for Trump in the debate, though Wilson wants to take the “Utah Way” of respectful politics to Congress. Walton pledged to use his business acumen to rein in federal spending.
As friends, family and supporters joined Curtis under the main pavilion of Riverview Park in Provo, excited chatter buzzed under the warm, late afternoon sun. Utahns from all walks of life showed up in support of Curtis, and early cheers went up as the first few counties began to report their results.
Anticipation grew as Curtis’ lead steadied through the evening, until the AP call was met with cheers and applause. Curtis fielded several phone calls congratulating him on his primary win, including one from U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, who said he looked forward to working with Curtis.
Lee later made a personal appearance to congratulate the likely future senator face to face.
In his speech to the press and the crowd, Curtis expressed his deepest thanks to his family, his staff and all his supporters. He shared his vision that the nation’s leaders can do better in Washington, that they can learn to agree, find solutions and be more civil.
“In unity, there is strength,” Curtis said.
Despite the polls that showed him ahead leading up to the primary, Curtis said he hadn’t counted on them.
“Until I saw the numbers, I didn’t believe them,” Curtis said.
With the results still rolling in, Curtis promised the crowd, “Tonight is to celebrate, tomorrow is back to work.”
In a battle of endorsements, newcomer Rep. Celeste Maloy is fighting to hang on to her seat against veteran Colby Jenkins in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes a slice of Salt Lake and Davis counties on the Wasatch Front and stretches to the state’s western and southern borders.
Maloy held 52% of the vote as of 10:15 p.m. to Jenkins’ 48%.
Whichever candidate secures the GOP nomination for the November ballot will face Democrat Nathaniel Woodward, Constitution Party Candidate Cassie Easley, or unaffiliated candidate Tyler Murset.
Speaking to supporters shortly after 9 p.m., Maloy made clear she was not ready to declare a victory, but that she wanted to say something before she headed to catch a red-eye flight back to D.C. to vote on a series of appropriations bills.
“So for all of you who’ve been asking me over and over on the campaign trail, how are we going to make sure we don’t have huge spending bills that are all squished together? That’s what we’re doing right now,” Maloy said.
Maloy told reporters that it was one year ago Monday that she won the party’s nomination at a special nominating convention. In 12 months, she has gone through two conventions, two primary elections and one general election.
As she heads back to Washington, she will continue to watch the results come in.
“There’s something wrong with someone who’s on a ballot and doesn’t feel a little bit nervous, but I’m pretty calm. I like the way they’re trending right now. I’ll just keep watching,” Maloy said.
Maloy, who served as legislative counsel to former Rep. Chris Stewart, won his seat with her boss’ blessing just last November after Stewart stepped down due to illness in his family, ending 11 years in Congress.
But by April, Maloy had drawn criticism from Utah Sen. Mike Lee, apparently over her vote in support of a bipartisan $1.2 trillion spending package to fund the federal government. Though he didn’t name Maloy, Lee blasted Republicans who he said were advancing the agendas of the Biden administration and Democrats, and gave his endorsement to Jenkins on the eve of Utah’s Republican nominating convention.
Jenkins led Maloy as they split the vote, with 57% of delegates choosing Jenkins and 43% staying with Maloy, sending them both to the primary.
In their debate this month, Jenkins zeroed in on Maloy’s vote on the spending bill and pledged to be unmoving in Congress, safeguarding Republicans’ slim majority from Democratic interests.
Maloy countered that her constituents know she won’t budge on the issues that matter most to them, but that by being unbending on every issue, you lose your seat at the table.
As the primary election approached, Maloy secured the endorsements of Trump and her fellow Utahns in the House.
Maloy said Tuesday night she thinks endorsements have had an above-average impact in her races.
“I think both of the races I’ve run so far in 2023 and in 2024 endorsements have ended up playing a huge role, and that’s rare,” Maloy said. “So I’m excited that President Trump was willing to endorse me, and I’m excited to work with him again next Congress.”
A five-way scrum among Republicans vying for the spot Curtis is leaving in the House went to State Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, according to the AP’s projection. He had 36% of the vote late Tuesday.
He was followed by Utah County entrepreneur Case Lawrence with 23%, Roosevelt Mayor J.R. Bird with 18%, former Utah County Republican Party chairman Stewart Peay with 14%, and Utah Auditor John Dougall with 9%.
The candidates have been in lockstep on most issues, though Dougall has unabashedly declared himself the non-MAGA candidate in the race. In particular, he has scoffed at the Utah Legislature’s move to ban transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities based on the gender they identify with in state buildings as MAGA messaging. He denounced the move to place enforcement of agencies’ compliance on the auditor’s office, making him the state’s “bathroom monitor.”
In a debate this month, the five candidates were in line on issues like drawing down the nation’s debt and supporting anti-abortion efforts, but split over continuing aid for Ukraine.
Peay, pointing to his Army experience, supports the U.S. supplying weapons to Ukraine in order to keep Russia from escalating its campaign. Lawrence joined him, calling Ukrainians “freedom fighters protecting their homeland,” but criticized President Joe Biden as appearing weak on the international stage.
Dougall and Bird both balked at the price tag on spending packages that send aid to Ukraine, but said the U.S. should support Ukraine in other ways in their stand against Russian incursion.
Kennedy couldn’t say whether he would have voted in support of aid for Ukraine, saying he would need to read through the bill before answering, but also colored his answer with opposition to Russia.
Utah’s 3rd Congressional District includes areas of Salt Lake and Utah counties, and covers eastern Utah, spreading to the south.
Kennedy was the delegates’ choice at the party’s convention with 61% of the vote, while the rest of the field qualified for the ballot through signature gathering.
Democrat Glenn J. Wright will face the winner in November.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Blake Moore won his first primary challenge since being elected in 2021. The AP called the race for Moore Tuesday evening as he led with 73% the vote.
Through his campaign Moore has spoken about the importance of building relationships in Congress in order to reach compromises, highlighting his success supporting defense agencies while saving in other areas.
Utah’s 1st Congressional District in northern Utah includes Hill Air Force Base and the communities around it, home to a number of military families.
But in their debate this month, his challenger, South Ogden electrician Paul Miller, criticized Moore’s votes for bills like the bipartisan spending package that “fund Biden’s agenda.”
Miller edged Moore at the state’s GOP convention, securing 55% of delegates’ votes to Moore’s 45%, putting both candidates on the primary ballot.
In November, the winner of the primary faces Democrat Bill Campbell and Libertarian Daniel Cottam.
There are no primary races in Utah’s 4th Congressional District, located at the center of the state and including portions of Salt Lake, Utah, Juab and Sanpete counties.
On the ballot in November will be incumbent Republican Rep. Burgess Owens, facing Democrat Katrina Fallick-Wang, United Utah Party candidate Vaughn R. Cook, and unaffiliated candidate M. Evan Bullard.
Nathan Beitler contributed to this story.
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