These maps were last updated March 13 at 11:00 a.m., at which point 100% of precincts in the state had reported results to the Utah Republican Party.
Early in the 2024 presidential election cycle, Utah conservative politicos pulled for an option other than ex-President Donald Trump. Some fundraised for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; others held news conferences declaring their support for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
But as momentum swung Trump’s way, Utah Republicans ultimately followed the rest of the country in backing him on Super Tuesday for another shot at the White House.
Haley, then one of the last Republicans in the race, nevertheless lost to Trump by a much smaller margin than she did in other states that held their contests March 5, with the exception of Vermont, where she achieved her lone victory. After the final precincts reported to the Utah Republican Party, Haley was behind Trump by just under 14 percentage points.
The last person standing in the way of a potential Trump nomination at the Republican National Convention in July, Haley ultimately dropped out of the race Wednesday.
But where she and Trump had the most, and least, support in the presidential preference polls at neighborhood caucuses in the Beehive State could offer clues as to how other races will end in November, and where votes may be up for grabs. In surveys of Utahns conducted before Super Tuesday, Trump has polled 8 to 13 percentage points ahead of Utah Democratic presidential primary winner President Joe Biden.
Trump collected the highest percentage of votes in Utah’s most rural counties, while Haley saw big numbers in the state’s most populated counties. She won both Davis and Salt Lake counties.
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Less than 10% of the state’s 890,637 active, registered Republicans determined how Utah’s 40 GOP delegates will vote for a presidential nominee.
Caucuses typically attract the most enthusiastic voters, and people who have time to attend in the small weeknight window. Registration for Utah’s caucuses began at 6 p.m., and meetings started at 7 p.m. Those restrictions can prevent students, parents, caregivers and shift workers from participating.
On Tuesday, voters may have also been deterred by long lines and delays that GOP Chair Robert Axson told reporters were caused by a combination of technical difficulties, absent volunteers and some precincts being “overwhelmed” with the number of people who showed up.
Those struggles were most apparent in heavily populated Salt Lake County, where Haley secured the highest percentage of votes. At his own caucus meeting at Brighton High School, Axson fielded angry shouts from frustrated caucusgoers.
While turnout in some the state’s largest counties, like Davis and Utah with 11.5% and 10.8%, respectively, were higher than the majority of the state, Salt Lake County saw one of the lowest turnout rates with 7.9%.
In total, the GOP counted 85,797 ballots. That amounts to just under a quarter of the nearly 345,000 Republican ballots cast in the 2020 primary election, overseen by the lieutenant governor’s office. Trump received 87.8% of the vote in that contest, in which he was the incumbent and faced little GOP opposition.
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