State Sen. Mike Kennedy is a step closer to leaving the Utah Legislature for the U.S. House of Representatives.
In a five-way Republican primary jamboree in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday night, Kennedy led the 2024 primary election field with 36.04%, followed by entrepreneur Case Lawrence at 22.75%, then Roosevelt Mayor JR Bird with 17.13%, Stewart Peay pulled in 14.70%, while State Auditor John Dougall was in the rear with 9.39%, according to unofficial results.
When Curtis announced he would not seek another term in the U.S. House of Representatives and instead run to replace Mitt Romney in the Senate, it drew a flood of Republicans hoping to replace him. Five of them survived past April’s Utah GOP nominating convention. This will be the first GOP primary in the 3rd Congressional District without Curtis or former state Rep Chris Herrod since 2016.
“Congratulations to Mike Kennedy on his primary election victory,” the National Republican Convention Committee said in a statement Tuesday evening. “Utah voters have made clear they want a strong conservative representative in D.C. who will secure the southern border and fight inflation, and Mike has done just that. We have no doubt Utah will send Mike to Congress in November.”
Heading into Tuesday’s primary, state Sen. Mike Kennedy and entrepreneur Case Lawrence were seen as the frontrunners, with State Auditor John Dougall, Roosevelt Mayor JR Bird and lawyer Stewart Peay trailing behind.
This is the first time five candidates have appeared on a primary ballot in Utah since 2016 and the advent of the signature-gathering path to the ballot, and it’s unlikely the eventual winner will be able to secure a majority. There have been four candidates in a Utah congressional primary several times previously. All of those contests have been decided with a plurality rather than a clear majority.
Kennedy is making his second run at Congress after losing the GOP U.S. Senate primary to Mitt Romney in 2018. Kennedy made his way to the primary ballot after winning the delegate vote at April’s state convention. He is much more of a culture warrior than the rest of the field, authoring Utah’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors. Kennedy, who was recently endorsed by Sen. Mike Lee, oppose more funding for Ukraine and is for crackdown on immigration.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) 3rd Congressional District candidate Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, attends a primary election party in Sandy, Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Case Lawrence, a trampoline park entrepreneur, has plowed more than $2.5 million into his campaign. He has made the “American Dream” the central theme of his candidacy, focusing on more traditional Republican issues like reigning in federal spending and reducing the national debt.
