Allies of former President Trump have given a boost to moderate Utah Republicans by backing leading conservative candidates in the race to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). I am concerned about this.
Trump endorsed Trent Staggs just before the Utah Republican convention last month. Voters will formally choose their candidates in the June 25 primary.
Mr. Staggs has shown little sign of survival as he struggles to raise money and gain support in the polls, and among some pro-Trump Republicans, his support has divided conservative voters. That has raised concerns that it could favor more moderate Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah). The candidate is in the front driver’s seat.
“Everyone knows this is a losing battle for Mr. Curtis,” said one Utah-based Republican operative. “The Stags have to pitch a perfect game to win.” [Trump’s team] You have to be really interested in this seat to avoid getting knocked over by Curtis. ”
Mr. Curtis was never thought to be in a position to vie for President Trump’s support.Trump did not support him in the presidential primaries earlier this year, and neither did his wife. enthusiastic supporter Many on Romney’s team also endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) before she withdrew from the Republican presidential primary.
But Republican operatives say that if Trump really wanted to influence the race, he would have supported either businessman Jason Walton or former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson (R). thinking. Both men were well-funded and likely had a punch. It was a coincidence that Trump sided with them. Wilson and Curtis are the only two candidates running statewide TV ads.
“Selecting Mr. Staggs was a real miscalculation,” said a Utah-based Republican operative, pointing to the decision not to specifically endorse Mr. Walton. The operative noted that Mr. Walton has a campaign infrastructure to spread his support.
Two Republican officials told The Hill that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) privately urged Trump to support Walton on the eve of the convention. A spokesperson for Mr. Lee did not go into details about those discussions.
Dan Houser, a political aide to Mr. Lee, said, “Mr. Lee speaks regularly with President Trump, and President Trump has not only been involved in the Utah Senate race. , asking questions about many of the Senate races on a very routine basis because senators meet with candidates frequently,” said Lee’s political aide Dan Hauser. A “very specific interview process” for candidates. “They’ve talked about a lot of options in a lot of races. But whatever specifics they discuss in private, they want to leave alone.”
Instead, President Trump endorsed Staggs with an approach focused on courting MAGA influencers such as Stephen Bannon, Kali Lake, and Charlie Kirk. The operatives say they targeted Mr. Staggs, a former president. The decision perplexed the former president’s allies, known as kingmakers in the Senate Republican primary.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a friend of Curtis and an ally of Trump since his time in the House, said he was “surprised.”
A spokesperson for the former president did not respond to a request for comment on the endorsement.
The main question for Mr. Staggs is whether he can make his endorsement meaningful and prevent Mr. Curtis from running away in the primary. It will likely require a cash injection to make that happen.
by Pre-convention submissionStaggs raised less than $200,000 in the first three months of this year.
“The challenge for Staggs is that people need to know that Trump supports you. And how do you do that if you don’t have the resources?” said a national Republican operative.
Staggs said he appreciates Trump’s support.
“He knows, as do I, that Utah is ready for an America First senator in Mike Lee,” Staggs said in a statement. “Conservatives are eager to find someone who cares more about our country’s borders than Ukraine. We are sending a message to the establishment in Washington that their time is up.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Romney is not in the race. When asked about the race, the one-time Republican presidential candidate had high praise for Curtis and Wilson, calling them both “qualified to represent Utah well.” He also pointed out that those who come out on top at state conventions with 4,000 delegates have historically not had success at the ballot box.
“The president has influence in a lot of situations where people are surprised. I think Mr. Romney is often intrigued by who he talked to last, so we don’t know who talked to him. , obviously did a good job helping Mr. Staggs at the Republican convention,” Romney told The Hill. “But I think history suggests that if you win the Republican convention, you lose the primary.”
There is a good chance that this will happen this year as well, and not just at the Senate level. Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) similarly lost his party’s convention by a wide margin, but is expected to easily win re-election later this year.
The race has also changed in recent weeks as Brent Hatch, the son of the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who had received double-digit votes in the race, did not appear on the ballot. .
The son of a Utah Republican heavyweight was the beneficiary of millions of dollars from an outside group affiliated with Growth Clubs, but he was unable to gather the required 28,000 signatures (21,035 signatures have been collected). ), but was far short of qualifying for the tournament. A Republican operative with ties to Utah told The Hill that Hatch’s problems stemmed from his late entry into the country and the lack of serious activity behind his candidacy. Told.
“He decided to run on a whim, but never built the infrastructure around it,” the strategist said.
Efforts to gather signatures failed, he said, mainly because by the time he tried to hire a company to handle the process, it was too late and all the other candidates had hired. Agent.
Trump has had a roller-coaster relationship with Utah Republicans since his 2016 campaign. Republican operatives say his standing with primary voters is strong but not as strong as in other ruby red states, potentially limiting the impact of supporting Staggs.
But for some Republicans, the big question remains whether Staggs could run anyway.
“This is not a House race in Alabama,” said a national Republican operative. “He actually has to do it, and the question is, can he do it?”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
