After many of his attempts to contest the result of the primary election for the Republican gubernatorial nomination failed, Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, is suing the Utah Republican Party and asking the Utah Supreme Court to annul the results of the June primary, remove the governor and lieutenant governor from their offices, and install him as the Republican candidate for the governor’s office in the November general election.
In the suit, filed on the last day he could introduce an election contest petition, Lyman argues he qualifies as the party nominee through its convention process, which he won with 67.5% of delegates’ votes. That percentage, Lyman wrote, was enough for him to skip the June primary that selected Gov. Spencer Cox as the Republican gubernatorial candidate with 54.5% of the votes.
Lyman, who is representing himself, has repeatedly cried foul at the June election process, first, unsuccessfully requesting to obtain an unredacted list of signatures submitted in support of his opponent, and now, officially contesting the result.
In this challenge, Lyman also claimed the primary election for the office of governor and lieutenant governor was “improperly conducted” and “should be set aside because the improper conduct will change the result for that office.”
The challenge also argues for the removal of Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson from their current elected roles for “malfeasance.”
“Egregiousness of the error from the office of the Lieutenant Governor is reason enough alone to grant the petition,” the complaint reads, arguing that Henderson denied Lyman’s candidacy and Utahns’ right to vote, violating the party’s constitution and bylaws.
In the case of Cox and Henderson’s removal, Senate President Stuart Adams should serve as governor until January, according to the complaint. The lieutenant governor’s office would be filled by an Adams appointee.
‘Not just sad, but dangerous’
The lawsuit was met with raised eyebrows from the Cox campaign.
To ask the Utah Supreme Court to annul the primary results is a request to “blatantly disregard the will of more than 400,000 Utah Republican voters and name him the GOP nominee for the November election,” the Cox campaign wrote in a statement.
“Rep. Lyman’s attempt to undo a democratic election rather than honor the will of the people is not just sad, but dangerous,” Cox’s campaign spokesman Matt Lusty said. “It’s the kind of action you see in a banana republic and not the United States of America. Half the candidates in the primary election lost. In our proud American tradition, almost all of them did so with grace and poise. We encourage Mr. Lyman and his camp to do the same.”
Lyman and his running mate, Natalie Clawson, Lusty said, should “stop misleading citizens about Utah’s laws for ballot access” and help unite the state’s Republicans.
“By not doing so, Rep. Lyman only demonstrates that his motives are to divide the voters in Utah — especially within the GOP — for selfish gain. This hurts the conservative movement in our state and costs taxpayers money,” Lusty said.
Request to annul results for other offices
Under the state’s dual path to the primary ballot, Lyman qualified through the convention path, while Cox did so by gathering signatures. Ultimately, regardless of how they were nominated, Utah law determines that the candidate with the most votes in the primary advances to the general election.
However, Lyman cited the party’s constitution, which established that candidates that receive above 60% of votes at the convention can proceed to the general election.
Lyman wrote that even if the state law has two paths to the primary election, it doesn’t change internal procedures within the party.
The suit asks Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson also to certify other candidates that received above 60% of the votes in the Republican convention as the party nominees.
If the suit goes Lyman’s way, it would flip the nomination for the U.S. Senate seat, since Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs received 69% of that vote at convention.
In addition to this main petition, Lyman would also like a public statement from Henderson, “explaining the mistake related to the URP primary election.”
He also continued his quest for signature-gathering records that have been repeatedly denied. The lawsuit asked for any “evidence necessary to determine the legality or illegality of any petition nominating candidates, and votes cast or counted,” and asked again for a full list of names of individuals who signed petitions on behalf of any Republican hopeful in 2024.
Though the Utah Supreme Court hasn’t reviewed the document, and Cox remains the Republican nominee for the governor’s race, in the suit, Lyman already describes himself as a winner, arguing he’s the “declared candidate who was nominated by the Republican Party for the Utah Governor’s office without having to appear on the primary election ballot.”
Written by ALIXEL CABRERA, Utah News Dispatch.
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