Utah’s Primary Election took place on Tuesday, determining which candidates will go head to head this fall for seats in Washington D.C. and Capitol Hill. Among this year’s races include battles for the U.S. Senate, filling a vacant seat left by Sen. Mitt Romney’s departure, the U.S. House of Representatives, Utah Governor and Utah Attorney General.
U.S. Senate
Rep. John Curtis pulled ahead of his three competitors in the Republican primary for Senate, securing just under 50% of the vote as of Thursday morning.
“Thank you for believing in the vision. And the vision is this, that we can do things better in Washington,” Curtis posted on X following his victory. “We can agree. We can find solutions. We can be civil. And if we unify, we can solve any problem.”
Curtis has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017, representing Utah’s 3rd Congressional District. Curtis, a more moderate candidate than some of his opponents, beat out Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Curtis will go on to face democratic candidate Caroline Gleich, an environmental activist and social media influencer. They are scheduled to debate at Weber State University on Oct. 10.
Utah Governor
Gov. Spencer Cox, another moderate GOP candidate, pulled ahead of Rep. Phil Lyman (R-Blanding) in the primary race for governor. Cox received nearly 56% of the vote as of Thursday morning.
Cox was projected to win about an hour after polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday night. Lyman, however, refused to concede, and was highly critical of the quick call.
“Polls closed at 8:00 p.m. By 8:23 p.m. the AP calls the race for Cox. And at 8:31 p.m. Fox 13 calls it a crushing defeat,” Lyman posted on X. “ … Cox’s speech was bizarre. And, on top of that, we have a lot of votes still to count. Call it dangerous if you want but I’m not buying it.”
Cox will go on to face Democratic State Representative Brian King in the general election. They are scheduled to debate on Sept. 23 at Salt Lake Community College.
U.S. House of Representatives
In the primary race for the U.S. House of Representatives, races for all congressional districts but the 2nd Congressional District have been officially called.
In the 1st Congressional District, the incumbent Rep. Blake Moore beat his challenger Paul Miller for the republican candidacy. Moore will face Democratic challenger Bill Campbell this fall.
Meanwhile in the 2nd Congressional District, the race between the incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy and Colby Jenkins are still too close to call. As of Thursday morning, Maloy narrowly leads with 51% of the vote. 88% of the votes have been tallied. Whoever wins will move to face Democratic candidate Nathaniel Woodward.
In the 3rd Congressional District, state Sen. Mike Kennedy beat his four opponents. He’ll move on to face Democratic challenger Glenn Wright. Both the Democratic and Republican candidates in the 4th Congressional District, Katrina Fallick-Wang and the incumbent Burgess Owens ran unchallenged.
All four congressional district races will have debates this October.
Utah Attorney General
Derek Brown clinched a win for the Republican candidacy in the Utah Attorney General’s race, beating out Rachel Terry and Frank Mylar with 44.6% of the vote. Brown will battle Democratic candidate Rudy Bautista this fall.
Brown served in the Utah House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014. He’s also served as chairman for the Utah Republican Party. Both Cox and Sen. Mike Lee endorsed Brown in his race.
Brown and Bautista are scheduled to debate on Oct. 1 at Southern Utah University.
What’s Next
General election ballots will be mailed out on Oct. 15. Voters will have until Nov. 4 to postmark their ballots.
The last day to register to vote online for the general election is Oct. 25. Voter registration can be found here. Otherwise, voters can register on election day by visiting a vote center on Nov. 5.
Utah will also hold an early in-person voting period from Oct. 22 to Nov. 1. The full voter election calendar can be found here. Additional information and resources for voters can be found here.
