President Joe Biden announced over the weekend that it won’t be his name that appears on the ballot next to former President Donald Trump’s in November, including in Utah. With the Democratic presidential primary election over four months in the rearview, how will Democrats make sure they have a candidate on the ballot in the Beehive State?
Under Utah law, a registered party has until 5 p.m. on Aug. 31 to certify the names of its candidates. The national office of the registered political party must submit written authorization to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson to accept the certification of its candidates.
Democrats will nominate their presidential and vice presidential picks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. The Utah Democratic Party will have 34 delegates voting at the convention, including some of the top elected Democrats in the state like Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and House Minority Leader Angela Romero, of Salt Lake City.
Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him on the Democratic ticket shortly after announcing Sunday that he would end his reelection campaign. Harris has not yet announced who she will pick as a running mate.
“It is critical that Democrats remain united against Donald Trump, and that we keep his MAGA agenda from undoing all of President Biden’s accomplishments,” Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis wrote in a fundraising email Monday.
Utah Republicans have had varying reactions to the president’s announcement, from urging Biden to leave the Oval Office before the election to thanking him for his service in the White House.
Prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and unaffiliated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will also appear on Utahns’ ballots this year after Henderson agreed to push forward a signature gathering deadline that independent candidates have to meet to have their names included.