- The Utah Republican Party has selected Trent Staggs to replace Mitt Romney in the Senate.
- Staggs will continue to face other potential candidates in the June 25 Republican primary, including more moderate U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.
- Utah’s moderate Republican Party is losing its most powerful presence with Romney’s resignation. The value of Mr. Trump’s support for Mr. Staggs may be tested in the Republican primary.
Utah’s Republican Party on Saturday selected Trent Staggs as its U.S. Senate candidate to replace Mitt Romney, hours after local officials received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
The support helped Mr. Staggs pass the convention with more than two-thirds of delegate votes, but the support may not translate into success at the polls. The mayor of Riverton, just south of Salt Lake City, still has to contend with other potential candidates in the June 25 Republican primary, including U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.
Republican nominees have historically had little influence on Utah voters’ decisions.
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Curtis, a moderate, and Wilson, a Trump supporter, have already collected signatures to qualify for the primary. The winner will advance to the November general election and face Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist who won her party’s nomination early Saturday.
Mr. Staggs, 49, built his base by calling delegates directly and securing the support of Mr. Trump and many of his allies across the country. The embattled former president wrote on his own platform, Truth Social, on Saturday morning that Staggs has “100 ideas” on how to stop inflation, grow the economy and secure the U.S.-Mexico border. %MAGA” candidate.
Even before Romney announced he would not seek re-election, Staggs was the first candidate to enter the Senate race.
Trent Staggs, mayor of Riverton, Utah, and a candidate for U.S. Senate supported 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 with Donald Trump’s favorite Utah Republican,” Staggs said Saturday, noting that Romney has often challenged Trump and other Republican leaders. criticized for being a moderate.
Mr. Staggs’ strategy of aligning himself with the brash far-right president does not guarantee victory in Utah, one of the few red states reluctant to support Mr. Trump.
Stags supporter Eric Buckley said he is confident the endorsement will be well received by Utah voters. Davis County delegates said they had already decided to support Suggs, the primary challenger to Romney, even before President Trump’s nomination.
“It was his stand against the corruption that exists in Washington, D.C., and his promise to stand up to moderate Republicans and Democrats who push through their policies without any resistance,” Buckley said.
Mr. Curtis, 63, is expected to enjoy broader support among primary voters. He has been compared to Mr. Romney for pushing back against hardliners in his party, particularly on climate change.
Davis County Delegate Jonathan Miller, wearing a “Team Mitt” baseball cap, said he chose Curtis because he has demonstrated a willingness to work across the aisle to get results in Congress. Told.
Although Wilson, 55, did not win President Trump’s support, he pledged to support the president’s re-election bid and be a “warrior for conservatives” on Capitol Hill. At his elaborate expo booth in the convention hall, a tractor plowed through a pile of concrete blocks labeled “Biden Agenda.”
The nearly 4,000 delegates will represent “convention-only” candidates such as Mr. Staggs and state Rep. Phil Lyman, who was chosen as the party’s gubernatorial nominee over incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox, who chose not to collect signatures. was overwhelmingly supported. This practice is seen by many as circumventing convention.
“It’s a cheap option,” said Cache County Deputy Tim Lindsey. “I respect candidates who respect the convention process.”
The party’s candidate was also the most right-wing candidate in the race. When moderates like Cox and Curtis took to the stage, delegates booed them.
The governor laughed it off, pointing out that many great leaders have been booed at past conventions but won at the polls. Cox, whose signature secured him a spot in the primary, pushed back against criticism of his efforts to reduce political polarization.
“Maybe you hate what I don’t hate enough,” he said.
Political observers say Cox remains the likely favorite in the primary. His challenger, Lyman, is a former county commissioner turned lawmaker best known for organizing illegal ATV rides to protest federal land decisions.
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The 2014 protests took place after federal authorities closed a valley in southeastern Utah to motor vehicles to protect Native American cliff dwellings, artifacts, and burial sites. Lyman argued that the shutdown amounted to federal overreach.
In 2015, a judge sentenced him to 10 days in jail and three years of probation after a jury found him guilty of misdemeanor counts of illegal use of an ATV and conspiracy. He reminded delegates of his own brief proclamation just before the vote, pledging to continue fighting federal government overreach if elected.
The state party’s two largest factions — far-right Trump supporters and moderates who are losing their most powerful presence with Romney’s resignation — are expected to continue sparring on the ballot this summer. The primary will test Trump’s popularity in the Beehive State as he seeks a return to the White House amid legal proceedings that include an ongoing hush money trial.
