# 2024 Utah gubernatorial election

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The 2024 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of Utah, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Spencer Cox won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee, state Representative Brian King and Republican state Representative Phil Lyman, who ran as a write-in candidate after being defeated in the Republican primary. Primary elections took place on June 25, 2024. This was the smallest percent of the vote by a winning Republican since the 1992 election, 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 percentage points.
Cox was first elected in 2020, defeating Christopher Peterson by 32.65 points.

## Republican primary

Incumbent Republican governor Spencer Cox faced criticism from many conservatives for his moderate political positions, including his veto of HB11, and opposition to former president Donald Trump. Cox was booed at the Utah Republican state convention in April 2024. He faced a primary challenge from state representative Phil Lyman, who won over 67% of the vote at the convention. 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.

### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Spencer Cox, incumbent governor
** Running mate: Deidre Henderson, incumbent lieutenant governor

#### Eliminated in primary

* Phil Lyman, state representative
** Running mate: Natalie Clawson, attorney
** Previous running mate: Layne Bangerter, former special assistant to the president

#### Eliminated at convention

* Sylvia Miera-Fisk, commercial pilot
* Carson Jorgensen, former chair of the Utah Republican Party (2021–2023) and candidate for Utah's 2nd congressional district in 2020
** Running mate: Corrine Johnson, activist
* Scott Robbins, U.S. Marine Corps veteran

#### Declined

* Jason Chaffetz, former U.S. representative from Utah's 3rd congressional district (2009–2017)
* Robert O'Brien, former U.S. National Security Advisor (2019–2021)

### Endorsements

Individuals
* Riley Gaines, competitive swimmer
Political parties
* Utah Republican Party
Organizations
* Eagle Forum

### 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 ||||

### Polling

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

### Results
#### Convention

Republican convention results :
| Candidate/Running mate | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 |
| Candidate/Running mate | 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 | Eliminated |
| Scott Robbins | 21 | 0.56% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Sylvia Miera-Fisk | 20 | 0.53% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Inactive Ballots | 2 ballots | 2 ballots | 4 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 | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | 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 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | 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. Lyman later announced that he would run as a write-in candidate.
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." 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.”

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Brian King, state representative from the 23rd district (2009–present) and former Minority Leader of the Utah House of Representatives (2015–2023)
** Running mate: Rebekah Cummings, director of digital matters at the University of Utah

### Endorsements

Political parties
* Utah Democratic Party

## Libertarian Party
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* J. Robert Latham, attorney, nominee for lieutenant governor in 2012, and nominee for Utah's 2nd congressional district in 2020
** Running mate: Barry Short, businessman, perennial candidate, and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2016 and 2020

## Independent American Party
### Candidates
#### Nominee

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

## Independents
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Tom Tomeny, businessman
** Running mate: William Lansing Taylor, geologist

## Other candidates
### Republican write-in

* Phil Lyman, state representative
** Running mate: Natalie Clawson

## General election
### Debates

2024 Utah gubernatorial election debates :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic | Libertarian | Write-in |
| P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | | | |
| P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | 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 | Solid R | July 13, 2024 |
| Inside Elections | Solid R | July 14, 2023 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | June 4, 2024 |
| RCP | Solid R | July 13, 2024 |
| Elections Daily | Safe R | July 12, 2023 |
| CNalysis | 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 ||||

### Polling

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

### Results

2024 Utah gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Spencer Cox (incumbent)Deidre Henderson (incumbent) | 781,431 | 52.89% | −10.09 |
| | Democratic | Brian KingRebekah Cummings | 420,514 | 28.63% | −1.72 |
| | Write-In | Phil LymanNatalie Clawson | 200,551 | 13.57% | N/A |
| | Libertarian | J. Robert LathamBarry Evan Short | 41,164 | 2.79% | −0.73 |
| | Independent American | Tommy WilliamsArchie Williams | 27,480 | 1.86% | +0.09 |
| | Independent | Tom TomenyWilliam Lansing Taylor | 5,792 | 0.39% | N/A |
| | Write-In | Charlie TautuaaSylvia Miera Fisk | 525 | 0.04% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,477,457 | 100.00% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |