- The Utah Republican Party selected Trent Staggs as its candidate to replace Mitt Romney in the US Senate.
- Staggs will still be in the running against other top contenders in the June 25 GOP primary, including more moderate U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.
- With Romney’s departure, Utah’s moderate Republicans are losing their most prominent face. The Republican primary could test the value of Trump’s endorsement of Staggs.
The Utah Republican Party on Saturday selected Trent Staggs as its candidate to replace Mitt Romney in the US Senate, hours after a local official received the former Support of President Donald Trump,
While the endorsement carried Staggs into the convention with more than two-thirds of the delegate votes, that endorsement may not translate into success at the ballot box. The mayor of Riverton, just south of Salt Lake City, will still face other top contenders in the June 25 GOP primary, including U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.
Historically the Republican Party nomination has had little impact on the decisions of Utah voters.
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Curtis, who is more moderate, and Wilson, a Trump supporter, have already qualified for the primary by collecting signatures. The winner will advance to the November general election to face Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist who clinched the nomination for her party early Saturday.
Staggs, 49, built his base by personally calling delegates and endorsing Trump and many of his allies across the country. The embattled former president wrote on his Truth social platform Saturday morning that Staggs is a “100% MAGA” candidate who knows how to stop inflation, grow the economy and secure the US-Mexico border.
Staggs was the first candidate to enter the Senate race, even before Romney announced he was not seeking re-election.
Riverton, Utah Mayor Trent Staggs, a U.S. Senate candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, addresses delegates at the Utah Republican Party Convention in Salt Lake City on April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
“Let’s replace Joe Biden’s favorite Republican in Utah with Donald Trump’s favorite Republican,” Staggs said Saturday, criticizing Romney as a moderate who has frequently challenged Trump and other Republican leaders. Is.
Staggs’ strategy of engaging with the fiery, far-right president does not guarantee victory in Utah, one of the few red states that has been reluctant to embrace Trump.
Staggs supporter Eric Buckley said he was confident the endorsement would be well received by Utah voters. The Davis County representative said he had already decided to support Staggs in the first place, even before Trump’s recommendation to challenge romney,
“It was his stance on the corruption that exists in D.C. and his promise to stand up to liberal Republicans and Democrats who push their agenda without resistance,” Buckley said.
Curtis, 63, is expected to have broad appeal among primary voters. He has been compared to Romney because he opposed radicals in his party, particularly on climate change.
Davis County Representative Jonathan Miller, who wore a “Team Mitt” baseball cap, said Curtis was his choice because he has proven his willingness to work all the way to get results in Congress.
Although Wilson, 55, did not receive Trump’s endorsement, he has endorsed the president’s re-election bid and promised to be a “conservative fighter” on Capitol Hill. Their elaborate expo booth in the convention hall featured a tractor plowing through a pile of cinder blocks labeled “Biden Agenda.”
Nearly 4,000 delegates overwhelmingly supported “convention-only” candidates such as Staggs and state Representative Phil Lyman, who was selected as the party’s gubernatorial nominee in place of incumbent Governor Spencer Cox, choosing not to collect signatures. This practice is seen by many as circumventing the convention.
“It’s a cheaper way to go,” said Cache County Representative Tim Lindsey. “I respect a candidate who respects the convention process.”
The candidates selected by the party were also among the most far-right candidates in their contests. The delegates criticized moderates like Cox and Curtice as soon as they took the stage.
The governor laughed it off, saying that many great leaders before him had been humiliated in previous conventions but won in the elections. Cox, who qualified for the primary with the signatures, rejected criticisms of his initiative seeking to reduce political polarization.
He said, “Maybe you hate that I don’t hate enough.”
Political observers say Cox remains the likely favorite in the primaries. His opponent is Lyman, a former county commissioner turned legislator, known for organizing illegal ATV rides in protest of the federal land decision.
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The 2014 protest march came after being shut down by federal authorities. A Southeastern Utah From canyons to motorized vehicles to protect Native American rock dwellings, artifacts, and burials. Lyman argued that the closure constituted overreach by the federal government.
In 2015 a jury sentenced him to 10 days in jail and three years of probation after finding him guilty of illegal use of an ATV and conspiracy. He reminded delegates of his short sentence just before the vote and promised to continue the fight against federal overreach if elected.
The state party’s two major factions — far-right Trump supporters and moderates, who are losing their most prominent face with Romney’s departure — are set to continue the fight in this summer’s elections. The primaries will test Trump’s popularity in the Beehive State as he tries to fight his way back into the White House amid legal proceedings, including an ongoing secret money lawsuit.
