The 2024 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the

governor of Utah A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, concurrently with the

2024 U.S. presidential election The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. It will be the first presidential election after electoral votes were redistributed during the 2020 ce ...

, as well as

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to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

and local elections. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

Governor Spencer Cox won re-election to a second term, defeating

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee, state

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

Brian King and Republican state Representative

Phil Lyman Phil Lyman is a resident of Blanding, Utah who currently represents district 73 in the Utah House of Representatives. District 73 includes the counties of San Juan, Kane, Garfield, Wayne, Beaver, Piute, and part of Sevier. During the 2022 legis ...

, who ran as a write-in candidate after being defeated in the Republican primary. Primary elections took place on June 25, 2024.

Background

Utah is considered to be a strongly

red state Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

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 This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **Cro ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

carried Utah by 20.5 percentage points. Cox was first elected in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, 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

. Cox was booed at the Utah Republican state convention in April 2024. He faced a primary challenge from state representative

, 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 Deidre Marie Hulse Henderson (born September 4, 1974) is an American politician serving as the ninth lieutenant governor of Utah since January 4, 2021. From 2013 to 2021, she served as member of the Utah State Senate for District 7, which is base ...

, incumbent

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Eliminated in primary

, state representative **Running mate: Natalie Clawson, attorney **Previous running mate: Layne Bangerter, former

special assistant to the president The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The EOP consists of several offices and agenci ...

Eliminated at convention

*Sylvia Miera-Fisk, commercial pilot *

Carson Jorgensen Carson Jorgensen (born 1988/1989) is the chairman of the Utah Republican Party. He was elected in convention on May 1, 2021. At the time of his election, Jorgensen was 31 years old, making him the youngest state Republican Party chair in Utah ...

, former chair of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's United States House of Representatives ...

(2021–2023) and candidate for

Utah's 2nd congressional district Utah's 2nd congressional district currently serves Salt Lake City and the largely rural western and southern portions of Utah, including Saint George and Tooele. The current U.S. House Representative is Republican Chris Stewart. A map of cu ...

**Running mate: Corrine Johnson, activist *Scott Robbins,

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veteran

Declined

Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Cha ...

, former

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Utah's 3rd congressional district Utah's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. It is located in southern and eastern Utah and includes the cities of Orem and Provo. The district was created when Utah was awarded ...

(2009–2017) * Robert O'Brien, former

U.S. National Security Advisor The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA),The National Security Advisor and Staff: p. 1. is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President, based at t ...

(2019–2021)

Endorsements

Fundraising

Polling

Results

Convention

Debate

Primary

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 The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, ...

rejected his argument. Lyman later announced that he would run as a write-in candidate. Cox has since backed Trump after an

assassination attempt This is a list of survivors of assassination attempts, listed chronologically. It does ''not'' include those who were heads of state or government at the time of the assassination attempt. See List of heads of state and government who survived as ...

made during a rally 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 A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

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 The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...

Endorsements

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Nominee

*J. Robert Latham, attorney, nominee for lieutenant governor in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, and nominee for in

**Running mate: Barry Short, businessman, perennial candidate, and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2016 and

Independent American Party

Candidates

Nominee

*Tommy Williams, perennial candidate and nominee for U.S. Senate in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

**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

, state representative **Running mate: Natalie Clawson

General election

Debates

Predictions

Fundraising

Polling

Results

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Spencer Cox (R) for GovernorBrian King (D) for GovernorRob Latham (L) for GovernorCharlie Tautuaa (WI) for GovernorTom Tomeny (I) for GovernorPhil Lyman (R write-in) for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:2024 Utah gubernatorial election

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***'' Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...