Utah Republican Primary Election Contest

Petition filed by a GOP candidate for Utah governor, Phil Lyman, against incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox (R), Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (R), the Utah Republican Party (URP) and URP State Chair, Robert Axson, challenging the results of the June 2024 Republican primary election. In Utah, Republican candidates running for office are selected by the URP as the official Republican nominee in a nominating convention and, if necessary, a primary election. If a candidate receives 60% or more of the delegate votes at the nominating convention, they automatically become the Republican nominee and proceed to the general election. If no candidate reaches 60% of the vote, the two candidates who received the most votes run in a primary election to determine the party nominee. Republican candidates may also qualify to run in the primary election if they receive over 28,000 signatures from registered Republican voters. 

Lyman argues that because he received 67.54% of the delegate votes in the URP’s nominating convention, he should have been automatically selected as the Republican nominee regardless of whether his competitors reached the signature threshold needed to qualify for the Republican primary. Lyman claims that the URP’s failure to automatically nominate him as the official Republican nominee for governor after winning over 60% of the vote at the nominating convention violates Utah election law. Lyman asks the Utah Supreme Court to overturn the Republican primary results and declare him the official Republican nominee for governor in the general election, as well as any other Republican candidate who received 60% or more of the vote in the URP nominating convention. Lyman also asks the court to remove both Cox and Henderson from office.

RESULT: On Aug. 13, 2024, the Utah Supreme Court reject Lyman’s petition. The June 2024 Republican primary results will not be overturned.

Last updated: August 14, 2024 1:06 pm EST