Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) won the Utah Senate GOP primary on Tuesday, making him the odds-all-favorite to succeed retiring Sen. Mitt Romney next year.
Curtis, a three-term congressman and former mayor of Provo, Utah, defeated three other candidates, including Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who was backed by former President Donald Trump.
Staggs touted his Trump endorsement in the closing days of the race by claiming that a Curtis election would mean a “continuation of Mitt Romney” in the Senate. He said that Utah deserved a senator who would get along with the former president who is running for another term in the White House.
Curtis said Trump bore responsibility for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and didn’t back him during the presidential primary earlier this year. His wife was also a supporter of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) before she dropped out and endorsed Trump.
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However, the 64-year-old congressman is still deeply conservative and aligns with Trump on most issues. The one exception seems to be his focus on combating the harmful effects of climate change like drought and wildfires, a big issue in his Western state.
Curtis was elected to Congress in 2017 after then-Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), retired midway through his term and became a contributor for Fox News.
Tuesday’s primary election marks yet another setback for Trump in Utah, which seems to be on an island in the broader Republican Party that has fully backed Trump and his MAGA agenda. The state’s governor, Spencer Cox, similarly has a strained relationship with Trump.
Romney, a rare GOP critic of Trump who twice voted to impeach the former president, announced earlier this year he was stepping down to spend more time with his family and desire not to serve into his 80s. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee and former governor of Massachusetts congratulated Curtis on his victory on Tuesday, calling him “a man of honor and integrity who cares deeply about our fellow citizens and the future of our country. We need more leaders like him.”
Utah has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970. Curtis is slated to face Democrat Caroline Gleich in November.