In his first reelection bid, Gov. Spencer Cox’s primary race was often characterized as one that would show where the average Republican voter in Utah fell on the spectrum of support for former President Donald Trump. At the election night party for his challenger, state Rep. Phil Lyman — who was pardoned by the ex-president for an illegal protest on federal land — Trump gear was just as plentiful as Lyman’s maroon campaign T-shirts.
But in crimson Utah, where Latter-day Saint conservatives’ votes can be anomalous, the incumbent governor who repeatedly urged his party to pick a different presidential candidate over Trump won. Trump did not make an endorsement in the gubernatorial race.
As of Wednesday afternoon, according to early unofficial returns published by the lieutenant governor’s office, Cox has won 55.91% of Republican votes and Lyman had 44.09%.
Cox’s strongest showing was in Salt Lake County, where he had so far secured 63.46% of votes. Overall, he was ahead in 14 of 29 counties, with both rural and urban areas comprising his support. Lyman dominated his home county, San Juan, where he was previously a commissioner. There, 77.71% of the votes counted went to him.
The numbers in these maps represent early, unofficial results and will be updated as the lieutenant governor’s office publishes more returns. They are current as of June 26 at 6 p.m.
