Curtis wins Senate primary; Kennedy tops House contenders as ballot tally begins (2024)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis secured a win in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senate and state Sen. Mike Kennedy pulled out a win in the race for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District.

Gov. Spencer Cox also beat his primary challenger, state Rep. Phil Lyman, in the polls Tuesday evening.

U.S. Senate

Twenty-three minutes after polls closed, The Associated Press called the race in favor for Curtis in the race to replace Sen. Mitt Romney.

Unofficial results at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday showed Curtis ahead in the race with about 52% of the vote, with Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs following behind at 28%. Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson had about 13% and businessman Jason Walton tallied 6%.

Preliminary results in Utah County show voters in the county favoredCurtis, who has represented part of the area in Congress since 2017 and spent seven years as the Provo mayor.

In the election’s final days, the race became a clear battle between Curtis, a more moderate Republican, and Staggs, a Donald Trump loyalist who received an endorsem*nt from the former president in April.

At an election night party in Provo, Curtis supporters, family members and campaign staffers cheered as preliminary results started to drop, showing the congressman in the lead.

Curtis addressed the crowd after learning of the results, emotionally thanking his family for their support as well as donors and voters.

“Figuring out how to say thank you is just very difficult,” he said, standing next to his wife, Sue, and their children and grandchildren. “And you can’t say thank you without saying first of all, thank you to my family.”

The winner of the Republican primary will go on to face Democratic nominee Caroline Gleich, a professional skier, in the general election. One Independent American candidate, Carlton E. Bowen, has also filed to run in the race.

3rd Congressional District

Tuesday evening, the AP called the race for Kennedy, who was in the lead with about 36% of the vote, with Case Lawerence following behind with about 23%. JR Bird had about 18%, Stewart Peay was at 14% and John Dougall had about 9%. The congressional district includes most of the county north of Springville, minus Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs and part of Lehi.

Preliminary results from Utah County show that voters within the district favored Kennedy, who currently represents part of the county in the state Senate.

The primary race for the district has been crowded since the current representative, Curtis, announced his run for U.S. Senate. Nine candidates had filed to run with five qualifying for the ballot.

Glenn Wright is the nominated Democratic candidate for the seat and will face the GOP winner in November.

Statewide

In the governor’s race, The Asscoiated Press called the race for Cox against Lyman, with the current governor having almost 60% as of Tuesday night and Lyman 40%.

With current State Auditor John Dougall running for Congress, two Republicans were seeking the nomination: Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch was behind with 43% and Tina Cannon led with 56%.

The state attorney general seat also was up for grabs after current Attorney General Sean Reyes chose not to seek reelection this year when questions arose due to his ties to Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard, who is being investigated for sexual assault claims.

Derek Brown was leading with just under 46%, Rachel Terry with 33% and Frank Mylar with 20%.

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