page_title: Sean Reyes
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Sean Reyes / Career / Politics
caption_attribution_description: English: Sean Reyes speaking at Horasis Global China Business Meeting 2019
context_page_description: Sean D. Reyes is an American lawyer and politician, currently serving as the 21st Attorney General of Utah. He was appointed by Governor Gary Herbert following the resignation of John Swallow. He is a member of the Republican Party and has served as a county, state and national delegate for the Republican Party and a member of the State Central Committee, the governing body of the Utah Republican Party.
context_section_description: Reyes ran for Attorney General of Utah in 2012 against John Swallow. He lost the primary election by a margin of 68 to 32 percent. After Swallow resigned amid scandal in December 2013, Reyes was chosen to replace him.  Reyes was selected as one of three candidates by the Utah Republican Party State Central Committee on December 14, 2013. Governor Gary Herbert appointed Reyes as the next Attorney General of Utah on Dec 23, 2013.
  Because of Utah's election laws, Reyes had to run in the 2014 Utah elections to be elected to finish out the remainder of Swallow's term. He won with 63.06 percent of the vote over his Democratic challenger, Charles A. Stormont, and Libertarian candidate Andrew McCullough.
  As attorney general, Reyes frequently joined other Republican state attorneys general who sued the Obama administration on various issues, ranging from federal lands use to transgender rights. Immediately after taking office, Reyes appealed Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling that struck down Amendment 3, the state's same-sex marriage ban. The estimated $2 million price tag in appealing Shelby's ruling was criticized by The Advocate, Daily Kos, and ThinkProgress. In response, Reyes stated, "We're willing to spend whatever it takes to protect the laws and the will of the people" and that "everyone benefits from appealing the case."
  In 2016, it was reported that members of the Latter Day Church of Christ, a Mormon fundamentalist denomination, had donated to Reyes' campaign for attorney general individually and through Washakie Renewable Energy, a business partially owned by members of the LDCC. Reyes' representatives indicated in response to these reports that the contributions had been placed in escrow.
  Reyes is a vocal and longtime supporter of Donald Trump. In late-January 2017, Reyes was named as a top candidate for the chairmanship of the Federal Trade Commission by officials in the Trump administration. He praised Trump in a speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, and Trump endorsed him in his 2020 primary. Reyes was also named Utah state co-chairman of Trump's reelection campaign.
  In 2020, Reyes is running for a third term as Utah State Attorney General. He was challenged for the Republican nomination by Utah County Attorney David Leavitt, but won the Republican renomination in the July 2020 primary election with about 54% of the vote. In the November general election, Reyes faces Democratic nominee Greg Skordas.
caption: Sean Reyes speaking at the Horasis Global China Business Meeting in 2019.
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