{"id":2318633,"date":"2024-08-03T11:15:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-03T15:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-lawmaker-contests-utahs-election-process-in-fight-to-upend-governor-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-03T11:20:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T15:20:02","slug":"republican-lawmaker-contests-utahs-election-process-in-fight-to-upend-governor-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-lawmaker-contests-utahs-election-process-in-fight-to-upend-governor-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican lawmaker contests Utah\u2019s election process in fight to upend governor &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublican-lawmaker-contests-utahs-election-process-in-fight-to-upend-governor-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2318633&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a\u200c legal\u200b move against Utah&#8217;s election process, Republican state representative\u2064 Phil Lyman is contesting the results of the gubernatorial primary \u2064in which he\u200d lost to incumbent Governor Spencer\u200c Cox.\u200b Lyman filed a lawsuit with the \u200cUtah \u200dSupreme Court, seeking\u200d to\u200c annul the\u2062 June 25, 2024 primary election and\u2064 designate himself as the Republican nominee, citing his strong performance at\u200d the April GOP nominating\u200b convention where \u2063he garnered \u2062over 60% \u200cof the delegate \u2062vote. \u200d <\/p>\n<p>While Lyman qualified for\u2064 the primary ballot through the \u200bcaucus process, Cox secured his spot through a signature-gathering initiative, \u200ccollecting the requisite 28,000 \u2064signatures\u2062 from registered Republicans. Despite Lyman&#8217;s early support, Cox decisively won the primary election, obtaining 58% of\u2062 the \u200cvotes compared to Lyman&#8217;s 42%. Lyman&#8217;s lawsuit \u200cargues that \u200dthe party\u2019s internal \u200bprocedures should allow candidates receiving over 60% of the caucus vote to directly appear\u200c on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-ballot-battle-states-that-could-follow-colorados-lead-and-try-to-block-former-president-in-2024\/\" title=\"States may emulate Colorado&#039;s example and attempt to prevent former President Trump from running in 2024\">general election \u200dballot<\/a> \u2062without a primary. However, opposing Republicans \u200dcontend that \u2062state law supersedes party\u200b rules and that the legal\u2064 challenge \u2062undermines\u2062 democratic principles. The Cox campaign\u2063 has described Lyman&#8217;s actions as\u2062 a\u2063 dangerous attempt to\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-happening-pennsylvania-state-legislature-files-resolution-disputes-statewide-2020-election-results\/\" title=\"It&#039;s Happening: Pennsylvania State Legislature Files Resolution -- DISPUTES STATEWIDE 2020 ELECTION RESULTS\">overturn election results<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Republican lawmaker contests Utah&rsquo;s election process in fight to upend governor<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1409567\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/utah\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Utah<\/a> state representative is challenging Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) in the state&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Supreme Court<\/a> after losing his primary race to the Republican governor.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Republican Phil Lyman <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/phil_lyman\/status\/1819509851363725740\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>filed<\/a> a lawsuit requesting the state&rsquo;s highest court to &ldquo;annul the June 25, 2024, primary election&rdquo; and rename himself as the Utah Republican Party nominee for governor.<\/p>\n<p>During the Utah Republican Party Nominating Convention in April, Lyman secured more than 60% of the delegate vote, earning him a spot on the GOP&rsquo;s gubernatorial primary ballot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Cox also met the state&rsquo;s qualifications to appear on the primary ballot, albeit through a different process. There are several pathways for a candidate to put their name on the ballot in Utah, according to state law SB54. <\/p>\n<p>Both a party caucus, which was the route Lyman took, and a signature gathering initiative, which Cox selected, are viable options for candidates to gain access to primary ballots. The incumbent governor collected the necessary 28,000 signatures from registered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Republicans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republicans<\/a>, legally assuring him a place on the ballot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The two Republicans went on to duel during the primary election, where Lyman suffered a crushing defeat to Cox. In June, the governor handily won the election 58% to 42%.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox, left, shakes hands with Utah State Rep. Phil Lyman after Utah&rsquo;s gubernatorial GOP primary debate on June 11, 2024, in Salt Lake City. Cox is also set to face his primary challenger, Lyman, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.Cox, the moderate Republican, who took office in 2021, is expected to win among primary voters even after he was booed earlier this year by GOP convention delegates, who tend to lean farther right. (Isaac Hale\/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More than a month later, Lyman&rsquo;s challenge to the election results alleges the Utah Republican Party&rsquo;s &ldquo;internal process&rdquo; should have enabled him to skip the primary election, due to his strong performance during the nominating convention. His lawsuit requests the court to designate all candidates who received 60% of the party&rsquo;s caucus vote as the nominee on the general election ballot.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Although SB54 created two paths to the Primary election, it did not change the internal procedures of the party that if a single candidate achieves over 60% of the caucus vote, that candidate is certified to the state for placement on the general election ballot, and no primary is held for that office,&rdquo; wrote Lyman.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">PRESS RELEASE<br \/>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n<p>August 2, 2024<\/p>\n<p>Lyman for Utah Campaign Files Petition for Extraordinary Writ with Utah Supreme Court<\/p>\n<p>SALT LAKE CITY &mdash; Republican candidate for governor Phil Lyman has filed a petition for extraordinary writ of declaratory and injunctive&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Phil Lyman for Governor (@phil_lyman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phil_lyman\/status\/1819509851363725740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Other Republicans in the western state disagree with their colleague&rsquo;s assessment that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hes-in-trump-says-hed-accept-house-speakership-but-only-on-1-condition\/\" title=\"Trump agrees to become House Speaker, but with one condition.\">internal party rules<\/a> take precedence over state law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>State Sen. Todd Weiler and Utah GOP Chairman Rob Axson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deseret.com\/utah\/2024\/08\/02\/phil-lyman-lawsuit-cox\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> <em>Deseret News<\/em> they believe party documents have less power than state authority.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Republican Party last fall told the Utah elections office, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re going to participate in the 2024 election as a QPP, qualified political party,&rsquo; which means we&rsquo;ll accept signature candidates and convention candidates,&rdquo; Weiler said.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Axson said that unless there is a court decision to the contrary, &ldquo;The rules, the bylaws, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Constitution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Constitution<\/a>, the foundational documents of that organization, practice and even just out of habit or tradition, all of those things are superseded by state law, which itself is superseded by federal law.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In response to the representative&rsquo;s actions, the Cox campaign argued that Lyman&rsquo;s &ldquo;dangerous&rdquo; lawsuit undermined the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nikki-haley-speech-in-dc-creates-confusion-and-rift-over-5-entrance-fee\/\" title=\"Nikki Haley&#039;s DC speech sparks confusion and division due to  entry fee\">democratic electoral process<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Rep. Lyman&rsquo;s attempt to undo a democratic election rather than honor the will of the people is not just sad, but dangerous,&rdquo; Matt Lusty, a Cox campaign spokesman, said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the kind of action you see in a banana republic and not the United States of America,&rdquo; Lusty said. &ldquo;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.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lyman pushed back against criticism in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>social media<\/a> post announcing the lawsuit on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Spencer Cox and Deidre Henderson knowingly and unconstitutionally forced multiple Republican convention winners to go to an illegitimate primary, a most severe form of election fraud that harmed not only the candidates via the substantial money spent, but also harmed Utah Republican voters who were mislead to believe this fake primary was a part of the nomination process,&rdquo; Lyman <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/phil_lyman\/status\/1819509851363725740\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> in a post to X.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He added that &ldquo;he is not at odds with the party and does not want this action to be seen as unfriendly toward the Utah GOP.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to the Lyman and Cox campaigns for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1409567\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1409567\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Republican state representative in Utah is contesting the election process after losing to Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT) in the primary. Phil Lyman has initiated a lawsuit asking the state&#8217;s Supreme Court to &#8220;invalidate the June 25, 2024, primary election&#8221; and declare him as the nominee for governor from the Utah Republican Party. At April&#8217;s GOP Nominating Convention, Lyman received over 60% of delegate votes, securing his place on the gubernatorial primary ballot. Meanwhile, Cox qualified for the ballot through a different method by gathering over 28,000 signatures from registered Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>In Utah, candidates can access primary ballots via various methods outlined in state law SB54; these include party caucuses like Lyman&#8217;s or signature collection initiatives like Cox&#8217;s. After facing off in the primary election, Lyman was defeated by Cox with a vote of 58% to 42%. <\/p>\n<p>Lyman\u2019s legal challenge claims that due to his strong performance at the nominating convention, he should have been exempt from participating in the primary election altogether. His lawsuit seeks court recognition that any candidate receiving more than 60% of caucus votes should automatically be placed on the general election ballot without holding a primary.<\/p>\n<p>Other Republicans have disagreed with Lyman\u2019s interpretation of party rules versus state law. State Senator Todd Weiler and Utah GOP Chairman Rob Axson stated that party regulations do not supersede state authority and emphasized that all internal documents must comply with state law.<\/p>\n<p>In response to Lyman\u2019s actions, Cox&#8217;s campaign criticized his lawsuit as harmful to democratic processes. A spokesperson for Cox described it as &#8220;dangerous&#8221; and reminiscent of actions seen in authoritarian regimes rather than American democracy.<\/p>\n<p>Lyman defended his position on social media by accusing Governor Cox and Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson of forcing candidates into an illegitimate primary process which he labeled as severe electoral fraud affecting both candidates and voters alike. He clarified that he does not intend for this action to be perceived negatively towards the Utah GOP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2318634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Lyman.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[36506,4173,3914,3911,5764],"class_list":["post-2318633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-election-process","tag-governor","tag-lawmaker","tag-republican","tag-utah"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Lyman.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2318633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2318633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2318633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2318634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2318633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2318633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2318633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}