Utah GOP picks Trump-backed candidate to replace Sen. Romney, but primary is yet to come

• The Utah Republican Party has chosen Trent Staggs as its candidate to replace Mitt Romney in the United States Senate.
• Staggs will still compete against other top contenders in the June 25 Republican primary, including more moderate U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.
• Utah’s moderate Republicans are losing their most prominent figure with Romney’s departure. The Republican primary could test the value of Trump’s endorsement of Staggs.

The Utah Republican Party selected Trent Staggs this Saturday as its candidate to replace Mitt Romney in the United States Senate, hours after the local official received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

While the endorsement carried Staggs through the convention with more than two-thirds of the delegate votes, that support may not translate into success at the polls. The mayor of Riverton, just south of Salt Lake City, still must face other top contenders in the June 25 Republican primary, including U.S. Rep. John Curtis and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson.

Historically, Republican Party nominations have had little influence on the decisions of Utah voters.

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Curtis, who is more moderate, and Wilson, a Trump supporter, have already qualified for the primary by gathering signatures. The winner will move on to the November general election to face Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist who won the party’s nomination on Saturday.

Staggs, 49, built his base by personally calling delegates and seeking endorsements from Trump and many of his allies across the country. The embattled former president wrote Saturday morning on his Truth Social platform that Staggs is a “100% MAGA” candidate who knows how to stop inflation, grow the economy and secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

Staggs was the first candidate to enter the Senate race, even before Romney announced he would not seek re-election.

“Let’s replace Joe Biden’s favorite Republican with Donald Trump’s favorite Republican in Utah,” Staggs said Saturday, criticizing Romney for being a moderate who has often challenged Trump and other Republican leaders.

Staggs’ strategy of aligning himself with the brazenly far-right president does not guarantee victory in Utah, one of the few red states that has been reluctant to embrace Trump.

Eric Buckley, a Staggs supporter, said he is confident the endorsement will be well received by Utah voters. The Davis County delegate said that even before Trump’s recommendation he had already chosen to endorse Staggs for being the first to challenge Romney.

“It was his stance on the corruption that exists in DC and his promise to stand up to the moderate Republicans and Democrats who push his agenda without any resistance,” Buckley said.

Curtis, 63, is expected to have broader appeal among primary voters. He has been compared to Romney for reacting against hardliners in his party, particularly regarding climate change.

Davis County Delegate Jonathan Miller, who donned a “Team Mitt” baseball cap, said Curtis is his choice because he has demonstrated a willingness to work across parties to get results in Congress.

Although Wilson, 55, did not win Trump’s endorsement, he endorsed the president’s re-election bid and vowed to be a “conservative fighter” on Capitol Hill. His elaborate display booth in the convention hall featured a tractor bulldozing a pile of cinder blocks labeled “Biden Agenda.”

The nearly 4,000 delegates overwhelmingly supported “convention-only” candidates, such as Staggs and state Rep. Phil Lyman, who was chosen as the party’s gubernatorial candidate over incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox, for choosing not to collect signatures. Many consider this practice to circumvent convention.

“That’s a cheap way out,” said Cache County Delegate Tim Lindsay. “I respect a candidate who respects the convention process.”

Those chosen by the parties were also among the far-right candidates in their races. Delegates booed moderates like Cox and Curtis when they took the stage.

The governor laughed and pointed out that many great leaders before him were booed at past conventions but won at the polls. Cox, who qualified for the primary with signatures, rejected criticism of his initiative to reduce political polarization.

“Maybe you hate that I don’t hate enough,” he said.

Political observers say Cox remains the likely primary favorite. Lyman, his rival, is a former county commissioner turned legislator best known for organizing an illegal ATV ride to protest a federal land decision.

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The 2014 protest march came after federal officials closed a southeastern Utah canyon to motor vehicles to protect Native American cliff dwellings, artifacts and burials. Lyman argued that the shutdown constituted overreach by the federal government.

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 all-terrain vehicle and conspiracy. He reminded delegates of his brief sentencing just before the vote and promised to continue fighting federal overreach if he is elected.

The state party’s two main factions — far-right Trump supporters and moderates who are losing their most prominent figure with Romney’s departure — will continue to fight at the polls this summer. The primary will test Trump’s popularity in the Beehive State as he tries to fight his way back to the White House during legal proceedings that include an ongoing hush money trial.