2024 Utah gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2024 United States gubernatorial elections.

2024 Utah gubernatorial election
November 5, 2024
 
Nominee Spencer Cox Brian King Phil Lyman
(write-in)
Party Republican Democratic Independent Republican
Running mate Deidre Henderson Rebekah Cummings Natalie Clawson
(write-in)
Popular vote 781,431 420,514 200,551
Percentage 52.89% 28.46% 13.57%
Cox:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
King:      40–50%
Governor before election

Spencer Cox
Republican

Elected Governor

Spencer Cox
Republican

The 2024 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of Utah.

Incumbent Governor Spencer Cox ran for a second term, winning the Republican primary against state representative Phil Lyman with 54.4% of the vote, who later mounted a write-in campaign for the general election. Cox won the general election in November, defeating Democratic nominee and state representative Brian King as well as Lyman.[1]

This was the worst performance for a Republican gubernatorial candidate since 1992, which also saw a major independent candidate. Cox's 24.43% margin of victory was also the smallest since 2004.

Background

Utah is considered to be a strongly red state at the federal and state levels: Republicans control all statewide executive offices, the entire congressional delegation, and supermajorities in both state legislative chambers. In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump carried Utah by 20.5%.[2][3]

Cox was first elected in 2020, defeating Christopher Peterson by 32.65%.[4]

Republican primary

Incumbent Republican governor Spencer Cox faced criticism from many conservatives for his moderate political positions, including his veto of HB11,[5] and opposition to former president Donald Trump.[6] Cox was booed at the Utah Republican state convention in April 2024.[7] He faced a primary challenge from state representative Phil Lyman, who won over 67% of the vote at the convention.[8] However, Cox collected enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Cox consistently led Lyman in polls and won re-nomination, though Lyman refused to concede.[9][10]

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Eliminated at convention

Declined

Endorsements

Phil Lyman

Individuals

Political parties

Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 13, 2024
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Spencer Cox (R) $1,263,235 $2,142,975 $645,543
Phil Lyman (R) $1,408,004 $1,051,850 $356,153
Source: State of Utah Financial Disclosures[21]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Spencer
Cox 		Phil
Lyman 		Other Undecided
Noble Predictive Insights[22] June 20–21, 2024 432 (LV) ± 4.7% 55% 42% 2%[b] 1%
HarrisX[23][A] June 4–7, 2024 477 (RV) ± 4.5% 62% 25% – 12%
Noble Predictive Insights[24] April 8–16, 2024 283 (RV) ± 5.8% 51% 4% 9%[c] 36%
Dan Jones & Associates[25] January 16–21, 2024 428 (RV) ± 4.7% 50% 3% 11%[d] 37%

Results

Convention

Republican convention results
Candidate/Running mate Round 1 Round 2
Votes % Votes %
Phil Lyman/Layne Bangerter 1663 44.24% 2495 67.54%
Spencer Cox/Deidre Henderson 1085 28.86% 1199 32.46%
Carson Jorgensen/Corrine Johnson 970 25.80% Eliminated
Scott Robbins 21 0.56% Eliminated
Sylvia Miera-Fisk 20 0.53% Eliminated
Inactive Ballots 2 ballots 4 ballots

Debate

2024 Utah gubernatorial election Republican primary debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Republican
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Cox Lyman
1 Jun. 11, 2024 Utah Debate Commission Carolina Ballard YouTube P P

Primary

Republican primary results[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Spencer Cox (incumbent)
Deidre Henderson (incumbent) 		232,164 54.40%
Republican Phil Lyman
Natalie Clawson 		194,639 45.60%
Total votes 426,803 100.00%

Aftermath

Lyman later sued, claiming that the Republican convention was responsible for selecting the party's nominee and that the primary was illegal. The Utah Supreme Court rejected his argument.[27] Lyman later announced that he would run as a write-in candidate.[28]

Cox has since backed Trump after an assassination attempt made during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, stating in a letter: "Your life was spared. Now, because of that miracle, you have the opportunity to do something that no other person on earth can do right now: unify and save our country."[29] Cox also stated in a later news conference: “I am doing everything I can to help and support him...We will still have lots of disagreements, I’m sure, and we’ll still do everything we can to help the state of Utah and help the Republican Party be successful.”[30]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Endorsements

Brian King

Political parties

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Nominee

Independent American Party

Candidates

Nominee

  • Tommy Williams, perennial candidate and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2022[34]
    • Running mate: Archie Williams, heavy equipment operator and perennial candidate[34]

Independents

Candidates

Declared

  • Tom Tomeny, businessman[34]
    • Running mate: William Lansing Taylor, geologist[34]

Other candidates

Republican write-in

General election

Debates

2024 Utah gubernatorial election debates[36]
No. Date Host Moderator Link Republican Democratic Libertarian Write-in
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Cox King Latham Lyman
1 Sep. 11, 2024 Utah Debate Commission Jason Perry YouTube P P P N

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[37] Solid R July 13, 2024
Inside Elections[38] Solid R July 14, 2023
Sabato's Crystal Ball[39] Safe R June 4, 2024
RCP[40] Solid R July 13, 2024
Elections Daily[41] Safe R July 12, 2023
CNalysis[42] Solid R August 17, 2024

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of October 14, 2024
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Spencer Cox (R) $2,415,468 $3,782,382 $158,370
Brian King (D) $632,080 $651,962 $24,436
Source: State of Utah Financial Disclosures[21]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Spencer
Cox (R) 		Brian
King (D) 		Robert
Latham (L) 		Tommy
Williams (I) 		Other Undecided
Noble Predictive Insights[43] October 25–28, 2024 695 (LV) ± 3.7% 43% 26% 3% 3% 18%[e] 6%
HarrisX[44][A] October 15–19, 2024 813 (RV) ± 3.4% 51% 19% 3% 4% 2%[f] 22%
61% 21% 4% 7% 6%[g] –
Noble Predictive Insights[45] October 2–7, 2024 539 (LV) ± 4.22% 54% 26% – – – 20%
49% 23% 2% 2% 5%[h] 19%
600 (RV) ± 4.0% 52% 26% – – – 21%
Public Policy Polling (D)[46][B] September 27–28, 2024 612 (LV) ± 4.0% 45% 32% – – – 23%
35% 24% 3% – 19%[i] 18%
Lighthouse Research[47][C] August 29 – September 4, 2024 518 (RV) ± 4.31% 48% 27% 7% 4% 8%[j] 5%
HarrisX[48][A] August 2–9, 2024 800 (RV) ± 3.5% 56% 17% 4% 6% – 17%
59% 19% – – – 22%

Results

2024 Utah gubernatorial election[49]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
781,431 52.89% −10.09
Democratic
420,514 28.63% −1.72
Write-In
200,551 13.57% N/A
Libertarian
  • J. Robert Latham
  • Barry Evan Short
 41,164 2.79% −0.73
Independent American
  • Tommy Williams
  • Archie Williams
 27,480 1.86% +0.09
Independent
  • Tom Tomeny
  • William Lansing Taylor
 5,792 0.39% N/A
Write-In
  • Charlie Tautuaa
  • Sylvia Miera Fisk
 525 0.04% N/A
Total votes 1,477,457 100.00%
Republican hold

By county

Cox won 27 of 29 counties, with King winning the other two.[50]

County Spencer Cox
Republican 		Brian King
Democratic 		Phil Lyman
Write-in 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total
# % # % # % # % # %
Beaver 2,120 67.75% 251 8.02% 592 18.92% 166 5.31% 1,528 48.83% 3,129
Box Elder 18,423 64.30% 3,535 12.34% 4,682 16.34% 2,012 7.02% 13,741 47.96% 28,652
Cache 36,185 60.27% 13,061 21.76% 7,483 12.46% 3,306 5.51% 23,124 38.51% 60,035
Carbon 5,710 61.31% 2,094 22.48% 1,006 10.80% 503 5.41% 3,616 38.83% 9,313
Daggett 391 72.81% 72 13.41% 52 9.68% 22 4.10% 319 59.40% 537
Davis 95,679 57.63% 40,181 24.20% 20,103 12.11% 10,057 6.06% 55,498 33.43% 166,020
Duchesne 5,721 65.24% 728 8.30% 1,664 18.98% 656 7.48% 4,057 46.26% 8,769
Emery 3,256 66.04% 469 9.51% 955 19.37% 250 5.08% 2,301 46.67% 4,930
Garfield 1,914 69.47% 393 14.26% 344 12.49% 104 3.78% 1,521 55.21% 2,755
Grand 2,186 43.67% 2,433 48.60% 170 3.40% 217 4.33% -247 -4.93% 5,006
Iron 16,814 61.50% 3,967 14.51% 4,775 17.46% 1,785 6.53% 12,039 44.04% 27,341
Juab 3,821 59.78% 491 7.68% 1,697 26.55% 383 5.99% 2,124 33.23% 6,392
Kane 2,628 59.93% 859 19.59% 717 16.35% 181 4.13% 1,769 40.34% 4,385
Millard 3,708 58.80% 499 7.91% 1,706 27.05% 393 6.24% 2,002 31.75% 6,306
Morgan 4,293 63.10% 772 11.35% 1,373 20.18% 365 5.37% 2,920 42.92% 6,803
Piute 718 76.06% 53 5.61% 147 15.57% 26 2.76% 571 60.49% 944
Rich 1,088 76.24% 132 9.25% 136 9.53% 71 4.98% 952 66.71% 1,427
Salt Lake 222,608 44.07% 220,368 43.63% 40,035 7.93% 22,057 4.37% 2,240 0.44% 505,068
San Juan 2,241 35.94% 1,994 31.98% 1,715 27.51% 285 4.57% 247 3.96% 6,235
Sanpete 8,052 62.80% 1,240 9.67% 2,767 21.58% 762 5.95% 5,285 41.22% 12,821
Sevier 7,341 68.06% 777 7.20% 2,162 20.04% 506 4.70% 5,179 48.02% 10,786
Summit 11,202 43.94% 11,435 44.86% 1,952 7.66% 902 3.54% -233 -0.92% 25,491
Tooele 19,827 59.17% 7,104 21.20% 4,079 12.17% 2,497 7.46% 12,723 37.97% 33,507
Uintah 10,208 65.88% 1,428 9.22% 2,610 16.84% 1,249 8.06% 7,598 49.04% 15,495
Utah 171,100 57.25% 54,536 18.25% 59,531 19.92% 13,693 4.58% 111,569 37.33% 298,860
Wasatch 10,043 54.87% 4,574 24.99% 2,993 16.35% 693 3.79% 5,469 29.88% 18,303
Washington 53,786 56.08% 15,977 16.66% 21,025 21.92% 5,122 5.34% 32,761 34.16% 95,910
Wayne 925 57.13% 287 17.73% 354 21.87% 53 3.27% 571 35.26% 1,619
Weber 59,443 53.74% 30,804 27.85% 13,726 12.41% 6,645 6.00% 28,639 25.89% 110,618
Totals 781,431 52.89% 420,514 28.46% 200,551 13.57% 75,321 5.08% 360,917 24.43% 1,477,817


By congressional district

Cox won all four congressional districts.[51]

District Cox King Representative
1st 54% 29% Blake Moore
2nd 51% 31% Celeste Maloy
3rd 53% 28% John Curtis (118th Congress)
Mike Kennedy (119th Congress)
4th 54% 26% Burgess Owens

Notes

  1. ^ a b Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ "Would not vote" with 2%
  3. ^ Scott Robbins with 4%; Sylvia Fisk with 3%; Carson Jorgenson with 2%
  4. ^ Scott Robbins with 5%; Sylvia Fisk and Carson Jorgenson with 3%
  5. ^ Lyman (Write-in) with 15%; "Refused" with 3%
  6. ^ Tomeny (I) with 2%
  7. ^ Tomeny (I) with 6%
  8. ^ Lyman (Write-in) with 5%
  9. ^ Lyman (Write-In) with 19%
  10. ^ Tomeny (I) with 2%

Partisan clients

  1. ^ a b c Poll sponsored by the Deseret News and the University of Utah
  2. ^ Poll sponsored by Brian King's campaign
  3. ^ Poll sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission.

References

  1. ^ "Utah Governor Election Results 2024: Cox vs. Smith King". The New York Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Party control of Utah state government". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "Utah 2020 presidential election results". www.cnn.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "Utah 2020 gubernatorial results". www.cnn.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "Utah governor becomes latest to veto transgender sports ban". Politico. March 22, 2022.
  6. ^ Samuel Benson (February 15, 2024). "Utah Gov. Cox: Republicans making 'a huge mistake' if they nominate Trump". Deseret News. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  7. ^ Hannah Schoenbaum (June 12, 2024). "Utah governor defends record in primary debate after harsh reception at GOP convention". AP News. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  8. ^ Brigham Tomco (April 27, 2024). "Phil Lyman beats Gov. Spencer Cox at Utah GOP convention. Both advance to primary". Deseret News. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Bridger Beal-Cvetko (June 25, 2024). "Spencer Cox cruises to win in GOP primary; Phil Lyman says he won't concede". Deseret News.
  10. ^ Katie McKellar (June 25, 2024). "AP calls race for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, but Lyman won't concede". Utah News Dispatch.
  11. ^ a b McKellar, Katie (April 21, 2022). "Are Utah Republicans mad at Gov. Cox for transgender veto? Let political chips fall, he says". Deseret News. Retrieved April 25, 2022. Cox has said he does intend to run for reelection in 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e Schott, Bryan; Anderson Stern, Emily (April 27, 2024). "Beat at GOP convention, Gov. Cox tells delegates: 'Maybe you just hate that I don't hate enough.'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Price, Carlysle (May 4, 2024). "Phil Lyman announces Natalie Clawson as selection for lieutenant govornor". KSL-TV. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  14. ^ Emily Stern (May 3, 2024). "Judge says Phil Lyman's running mate stays off Utah Republicans' primary ballot — has days to find a new one". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  15. ^ Schott, Bryan (April 25, 2024). "Carson Jorgensen taps Utah Parents United founder as GOP running mate in 2024 gubernatorial race". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Aertz, Lindsay (September 20, 2023). "Jason Chaffetz not closing the door, not actively pursuing 2024 run for Senate or governor". KSL (radio network). "That's not something I'm planning to do, challenging Governor Cox is not in my plans," he said of 2024. But he said he is keeping his eye on a possible 2028 run for Utah governor.
  17. ^ "Are Jason Chaffetz or Robert O'Brien planning to run for office in Utah?". February 21, 2023.
  18. ^ Tomco, Brigham (August 27, 2023). "The most powerful Utahn you've never heard of could be America's next vice president". Deseret News. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  19. ^ Hanson, Libbey (January 23, 2024). "Riley Gaines Speaks at the U, Endorses Lyman for Governor". The Daily Utah Chronicle. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  20. ^ "Vote Lyman to Lead!". Eagle Forum. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Public Search". State of Utah Financial Disclosures.
  22. ^ Noble Predictive Insights
  23. ^ HarrisX
  24. ^ Noble Predictive Insights
  25. ^ Dan Jones & Associates
  26. ^ "2024 Primary Election Republican for Governor". Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  27. ^ Gehrke, Robert (August 13, 2024). "Utah Supreme Court rejects Phil Lyman's bid to kick Gov. Spencer Cox off the ballot and out of office". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  28. ^ Stern, Emily Anderson (August 12, 2024). "After losing GOP primary, Phil Lyman will run as a write-in candidate for Utah governor". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  29. ^ Sullivan, Kate (July 19, 2024). "Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox pledges Trump his support after saying last week he wouldn't vote for him". CNN. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  30. ^ Sentner, Irie (July 19, 2024). "Utah governor, a longtime Trump skeptic, offers endorsement after assassination attempt". Politico. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  31. ^ Bojórquez, Kim (December 4, 2023). "State Rep. Brian King to run for Utah governor in 2024". Axios. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  32. ^ Hudson, Vanessa (April 29, 2024). "Democrat Brian King picks University of Utah librarian as his gubernatorial running mate". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  33. ^ Bates, Suzanne (April 28, 2024). "Utah Democrats endorse Brian King for governor, Caroline Gleich for Senate at state convention". Deseret News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g "2024 Candidate Filings – Utah Voter Information". vote.utah.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  35. ^ Stern, Emily Anderson (August 13, 2024). "After losing GOP primary, Phil Lyman will run as a write-in candidate for Utah governor". The Salt Lake Tribune. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  36. ^ McKellar, Katie (September 10, 2024). "A Republican, Democrat and Libertarian qualify for Utah's gubernatorial debate • Utah News Dispatch". Utah News Dispatch. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  37. ^ "2024 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  38. ^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  39. ^ "2024 Gubernatorial race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  40. ^ "2024 Governor Races". www.realclearpolling.com. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  41. ^ "Election Ratings". Elections Daily. July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  42. ^ "Governor Forecasts". CNalysis. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  43. ^ Noble Predictive Insights
  44. ^ HarrisX
  45. ^ Noble Predictive Insights
  46. ^ Public Policy Polling (D)
  47. ^ Lighthouse Research
  48. ^ HarrisX
  49. ^ "2024 Utah General Election". enhancedvoting.com. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  50. ^ "Results by Locality". app.enhancedvoting.com. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  51. ^ https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::b4d46a7e-4366-4f6c-ac54-ff6640d4e13f

Official campaign websites

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.