Gov. Spencer Cox took a sizable lead over state Rep. Phil Lyman and the Associated Press declared him the winner of the race, but Lyman wasn’t ready to concede Tuesday.
“We always believe that in the end, the truth will prevail, and we proved that again tonight,” Cox said during his election night party at his campaign consultants’ headquarters in the heart of Salt Lake City.
Unofficial results, with returns from all 29 Utah counties, show Cox so far claiming 56.57 percent of the vote and Lyman 41.01 percent.
“The destruction of institutions, the destruction of trust in our neighbors, the destruction of trust in our fellow Americans, the destruction of trust in the institutions that have made us the greatest nation on the planet and the greatest state of the nation, is not healthy for any of us,” Cox said. of the race, which was marred by Lyman’s doubts about the electoral process.
In Highland, clutching Styrofoam plates filled with grilled meats, Lyman election night attendees cheered as polls closed at 8 p.m. But supporters seemed incredulous when Cox took the lead in counting the ballots.
Early on, Lyman told reporters he was waiting to see results from Utah’s most rural counties, where voters turned out for former President Donald Trump. But even after the AP called the race for Cox, Lyman said, “I’m not going to concede tonight.” »
Later, wishing his supporters goodnight, Lyman clarified: “I told everyone at the debates that I would not concede until we verified the results of the election, and I think that It’s a fair request. »
He told the crowd that his campaign was suing the signatures Cox collected to appear on the ballot, seeking to confirm their validity. He also suggested that it would be possible to raise other challenges to the electoral process in court.
Those signatures have become a focal point for Lyman, who has increasingly geared his campaign toward questioning their validity, the latest in a series of efforts to cast doubt on the electoral process. Lyman’s running mate, Natalie Clawson, submitted a public records request to obtain signature packages.
Under Utah law, signatures collected by candidates seeking access to the ballot are classified as “protected” documents.
Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie — whose office independently handled candidate signature petitions, including the governor’s — said in a statement Friday that Cox’s campaign had collected the signatures needed to run .
“Questions have been raised regarding the validity of the candidate petition signatures verified by Davis County,” McKenzie wrote. “I affirm that each signature has been reviewed by qualified election officials and validated or rejected in accordance with the requirements set forth by Utah law. I further affirm that each candidate qualified for the ballot through this process has submitted a sufficient number of valid signatures.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People attend a primary election party for gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, in Highland, Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Lyman, of southern Utah, gathered with supporters at the home of a woman who was once rumored to become a Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member.
Sara Pierce, who appeared in a few episodes of the first season of the television series, is not a permanent cast member. The possibility of her becoming one seemingly disappeared after she was spotted at the January 6, 2021 protest at the United States Capitol regarding the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, attends a primary election party in Highland, Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
The primary election results show the divergent political attitudes of the average Utah Republican voter and the state’s Republican delegates, who overwhelmingly rejected Cox at the party’s nominating convention in April, while both Third parties lent their support to Lyman.
Lyman challenged Cox from the right, criticizing her 2022 veto of a ban on transgender girls participating in high school sports. The lawmaker relied on his arrest on charges related to an illegal ATV protest on federal land, for which former President Donald Trump pardoned him in 2020.
Anticipating that the boos he endured at the county Republican conventions would resurface at the state convention, Cox used his speech to take aim at criticism from his delegates.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gubernatorial candidate Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to reporters in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, June 25, 2024, after winning the GOP nomination.
“Maybe you’re booing me because you hate that I signed the largest tax cut in Utah history. Maybe you hate that I signed the constitutional transposition into law. Maybe you hate that we ended CRT, DEI and ESG,” Cox said. “Or maybe you hate that I don’t hate enough.”
His comments drew the ire of party leaders across the state, who took the remarks as a snub. At the time, Cox had already qualified for the ballot by collecting signatures from registered Republican voters.
Lyman’s election interference allegations began after state election office employees blocked his first vice presidential candidate from joining the ballot because he did not meet constitutional requirements to run.
Layne Bangerter, who previously served as former President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, told the Salt Lake Tribune he left Idaho for Utah in 2021 — although he used an Idaho address in February 2022 to donate to Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador. The Utah Constitution states that candidates for governor and lieutenant governor must have been “a resident citizen of the state for the five years preceding the election.”
Even after an independent advisor overseeing the election and a district court judge agreed that it was appropriate to block the candidate from running, Lyman continued to call the decision “politically motivated election interference.” motivated.”
When asked by a Tribune reporter after a televised debate whether he would honor the election result, Lyman replied: “I will say this: I will verify the results of the election.” »
Outgoing President Cox responded to a similar question by saying, “I assure you I will accept the results of this election, I will accept the results of the federal election, I accepted the results of the election four years and nothing has changed. »
Republicans who sow doubt about election security, he added, are “frustrating” to him as a Republican, because he sees such ideas as hurting the party’s electoral chances.
“We don’t win any votes by telling people their votes don’t count,” Cox said. “We are actually losing votes. People think, “Well, why should I run?” » when time and time again, these allegations have proven to be completely unfounded.
Tuesday’s winner will face Democratic lawmaker Brian King in the November general election.
News Source : www.sltrib.com
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