Utah’s state Republican, Democratic party nominating conventions are coming Saturday

State party delegates have the opportunity on Saturday to decide which candidates do or don’t make it to the June primary and the November general election. 

Depending on whether candidates also opted to secure their place on the primary ballot by gathering signatures — which provides an alternative path, besides the party nomination — delegates’ votes could shape several high-profile state and federal races, including the gubernatorial and congressional elections. 

Both the Utah Republican Party and the Utah Democratic Party will be holding their 2024 nominating conventions on Saturday. The Utah GOP will be holding its convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City. The Utah Democratic Party will hold its convention at Cottonwood High School in Murray.

Especially for Republican races (seeing as Utah is a red dominant state), delegates can have a significant impact on elections at the convention level. Even if candidates gather signatures, delegates can determine what their June primary challengers will be and give campaigns a boost if they grant candidates the Republican nomination. 

Here’s what you need to know about the Saturday conventions and what races delegates will weigh in on.

Utah Republican Party nominating convention

According to the party’s agenda, the Utah GOP’s state delegates will begin gathering at the Salt Palace Convention Center starting at 7 a.m. for credentialing, then are scheduled at 8 a.m. to begin considering nominating candidates for multi-county elections, including several state school board, state House and state Senate races. 

Throughout the afternoon, delegates will also hear speeches and vote on candidates for state-level races, including nominations for state auditor, attorney general and the governor. 

They’ll also weigh in on candidates for Utah’s U.S. Senate seat being vacated by current Sen. Mitt Romney, as well as congressional districts 1, 2 and 3. The Congressional District 4 seat, currently held by Rep. Burgess Owens, is uncontested within the Utah GOP. 

Here are the contests and their candidates: 

Outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney’s U.S. Senate seat

In this highly competitive race flush with campaign cash, a total of 10 candidates are vying for the Utah Republican Party’s nomination. 

Three have already secured their place in the June primary by gathering signatures, and don’t necessarily need delegates’ nomination on Saturday. They are: 

• Current Utah Rep. John Curtis
• Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson
• Jason Walton

The other candidates that are relying on garnering enough delegate support (at least 40% of the vote) on the final round of voting, are: 

• Brent Orrin Hatch (former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch’s son) 
• Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs
• Josh Randall
• Carolyn Phippen
• Jeremy Friedbaum
• Chandler Tanner 
• Brian Jenkins

U.S. Congressional District 1

Three candidates are in the running, with the incumbent already securing his place on the ballot by signature gathering. They are:

• Incumbent Rep. Blake Moore
• Paul Miller
• Derek Draper

U.S. Congressional District 2

All three candidates are relying on delegate support to advance to the ballot, with none opting to gather signatures.

• Incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy
• Ty Jensen
• Colby Jenkins 

U.S. Congressional District 3

Having opted to run to replace Romney, Rep. John Curtis is leaving his current seat up for grabs. A total of nine Republican candidates are competing to take his place. 

Three candidates gathered enough signatures to guarantee their place in the June primary: 

• Current Utah Auditor John Dougall 
• Case Lawrence
• JR Bird

Candidates relying on delegate support are: 

• Chris Herrod
• Zac Wilson
• Stewart Peay
• Utah Sen. Mike Kennedy
• Lucky Bovo
• Kathryn Dahlin 

Governor

Four Republicans are challenging Utah’s current Republican governor, Gov. Spencer Cox, who was the only GOP candidate to gather enough signatures to guarantee his place on the ballot. 

The contest includes: 

• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox
• Rep. Phil Lyman (his campaign started out gathering signatures, but on March 30 Lyman announced his campaign suspended signature gathering, saying it was not necessary)
• Carson Jorgensen
• Sylvia Fisk 
• Scott Robbins

Attorney General

Current Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes isn’t running for re-election — drawing a field of four Republican candidates to take his place. One, Derek Brown, has already qualified for the ballot by gathering signatures. 

The candidates are: 

• Derek Brown
• Rachel Terry 
• Frank Mylar
• Trent Christensen

State Auditor

Two Republican candidates are competing to replace Dougall: 

• Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch
• Tina Cannon

State Senate

The multi-county Utah Senate races that state delegates will weigh in on Saturday include: 

• District 8: Incumbent Sen. Todd Weiler, who has already qualified by gathering signatures, will face off with Ron Mortensen and Brady Tracy. 
• District 22: Incumbent Sen. Heidi Balderree was the only Republican in this race to not gather signatures and is relying on delegates to continue her time in office. Both of her challengers, Garrett Cammans and Emily Lockhart, have already qualified for the primary by gathering signatures. 
• District 24: Retiring Sen. Curt Bramble’s open seat has drawn three Republicans: Current Rep. Keven Stratton, former Rep. Brad Daw, and former Sen. Dan Hemmert. Hemmert and Stratton have already qualified for the primary by gathering signatures. 

State House 

Many Utah House races are uncontested or already decided on the county nominating level, but several multi-county races have drawn a field of Republican candidates. They include: 

• District 12: Incumbent House Speaker Mike Schultz has one Republican challenger, Korry Green. Schultz already guaranteed his place on the ballot by gathering signatures.
• District 66: Current Rep. Steven Lund isn’t running for reelection, and he’s drawn a field of three Republicans hoping to take his place: Brian Nielson, Linda Hanks and Troy Shelley. None gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. 
• District 67: Incumbent Rep. Christine Watkins is being challenged by Republican Thomas Hansen. Watkins secured her spot on the primary ballot by gathering signatures.
• District 68: Incumbent Rep. Scott Chew is being challenged by Kenyen Wilkins. Neither gathered signatures. 
• District 69: Rep. Phil Lyman is leaving his House seat empty while running for governor. Three candidates are vying to replace him: Douglas Heaton, Logan Monson and Lynn Jackson. Jackson has already qualified for the primary ballot by gathering signatures. 

State School Board

• District 3: Incumbent Brent Strate is being challenged by Republican Rod Hall. Strate has already secured his place on the ballot by gathering signatures. 
• District 10: Incumbent Matt Hymas is being challenged by Republicans Monica Wilbur and Camille Knudson. 
• District 12: Incumbent James Moss is being challenged by Cole Kelley. 
• District 15: Incumbent Randy Boothe is being challenged by Cari Bartholomew and Alyson Robertson. 

Utah Democratic Party nominating convention

The Utah Democratic Party’s 2024 nominating convention will open to delegates at 8 a.m. on Saturday at Cottonwood High School in Murray. Beginning at 11 a.m. the day will start with welcome speeches and party business. Throughout the afternoon delegates will vote on nominations in multi-county, statewide and federal races. 

Many Democratic races are uncontested, but several have drawn multiple candidates, according to the party’s website. They are: 

• U.S. Senate: Vying for Romney’s open seat are three Democrats: Caroline Gleich, Laird-Fetzer Hamblin and Archie Williams III.
• Attorney General: Rudy Bautista and David Carlson are competing to face the Republican candidate for the open seat being vacated by Sean Reyes. 
• Congressional District 4: Two Democrats are competing to face Rep. Burgess Owens in November. They are Katrina Fallick-Wang and Jonathan Lopez. 
• State House District 1: Two Democrats want to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Thomas Peterson: Claudia Bigler and Chris Reid.
• State House District 23: Rep. Brian King, the Democratic candidate running for governor, is leaving his House seat open. Two Democrats are competing to replace him: Jeff Howell and Hoang Nguyen.