Mike Kennedy won the Republican nomination for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, making him the favorite to replace retiring Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) and win the seat in November.
Kennedy defeated Republicans JR Byrd, John Dougall, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay in the district’s hotly contested primary. Curtis is vacating his seat to run for U.S. Senate to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney.
Kennedy, a state senator, won his party’s nomination in April but faced challenges from other candidates who gathered signatures to appear on the ballot. Peay won the endorsement of Romney, who is Peay’s wife’s uncle. Kennedy also won the endorsement of Sen. Mike Lee, R-N.Y. Lee said Kennedy “is needed to take on the uni-party and get this country back on track.”
“Squad” members could be expelled from Congress as primaries in New York, Colorado and Utah take place on Tuesday
From left, candidates in the Utah 3rd Congressional District Republican Primary, J.R. Byrd, John Duggal, Mike Kennedy, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay, participate in a debate at the Eccles Broadcasting Center on June 12, 2024 in Salt Lake City. (Spencer Heaps/Deseret News via Associated Press/Pool)
Mayor Byrd highlighted his experience running a small town and the importance of the energy sector and agriculture. Deseret News.
Duggal, the state auditor, ran as the anti-MAGA candidate and was a vocal critic of Republican bills, including one he saw as overly aggressive, requiring states to ban people who identify as transgender from using bathrooms that don’t match their gender.
WATCH: This House primary was the most expensive in congressional history
He has also been a fierce critic of former President Trump. On Tuesday’s X show, he questioned the “arrogant attitude” of officials who swore to defend the Constitution but “supported Trump after January 6th.” He promotes himself as “mainstream, not MAGA.”
During a debate this month, candidates were divided on the issue of military funding for Ukraine and whether the federal government should explicitly ban abortion. Pea, Dougal and trampoline park entrepreneur Case Lawrence had all called for Congress to continue sending weapons to Ukraine to thwart Russian aggression.
Byrd and Kennedy disagreed, arguing that continuing to provide financial support to Ukraine was not in the US’s interest, and called for tougher sanctions and the seizure of Russian assets.
See the latest Fox News coverage of the primary campaign here
Senator Mitt Romney (Ting Sheng/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Kennedy will face Democrat Glenn Wright in the November election, and Republicans are expected to win easily in a district that has been won by Republicans since 1997.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Elsewhere in the state, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, a known critic of President Trump, fended off a primary challenge from fellow 2020 election denier Phil Lyman, who won handily at the state party convention.
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
