2014 Utah elections

Summary

A general election was held in the U.S. State of Utah on November 4, 2014. The state's four seats in the United States House of Representatives are up for election and there was a special election for Utah's attorney general. Primary elections were held on June 24, 2014.[1]

2014 Utah elections

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Attorney general special election edit

Background edit

Republican Attorney General John Swallow resigned in December 2013, less than a year into his first term, following multiple investigations into alleged bribery and campaign finance violations.[2]

Appointment edit

Pursuant to Utah law, Governor Gary Herbert was required to pick a replacement from three names chosen by the Utah Republican Party Central Committee.[3] Nine Republican candidates put their names forward for consideration. They were:

Burns, Sorensen, Tarbet and Wilkins all said they would not run in the special election if chosen.[4]

Sorenson withdrew from contention on December 9, 2013, with Ward also withdrawing two days later.[5] A debate was held on December 11[6] and Reyes, Smith and Tarbet were chosen as the finalists by the Central Committee on December 14.[7] Herbert chose Reyes on December 23,[8] who was sworn in on December 30, 2013.[9]

Special election edit

A special election was thus be held for the remaining two years of Swallow's term, with the office then up for the regularly-scheduled election in 2016. Reyes was unopposed in the Republican primary. Opposing him in the general election were Democratic rancher and attorney Charles A. Stormont,[10][11] American Independent Party nominee Leslie Curtis, Constitution Party nominee Gregory Hansen and Libertarian nominee Andrew McCullough, a perennial candidate for office.[12]

Polling edit

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Sean
Reyes (R)
Charles A.
Stormont (D)
Other Undecided
Brigham Young University October 15–22, 2014 159 ± 3.42% 47% 27% 7%[13] 19%

United States House of Representatives edit

Utah's four seats in the United States House of Representatives will be up for election in 2014.

References edit

  1. ^ "2014 Election Dates". Utah Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  2. ^ "Utah A.G. John Swallow resigns, citing toll on family, finances". Deseret News. November 21, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  3. ^ "AG candidate race heats up". KSL-TV. December 6, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "Acting A.G. joins GOP race to replace Swallow". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  5. ^ "Ward drops out of A.G. race over residency questions". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 11, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "AG candidates agree: Office needs change and they're best fit for the job". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 12, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  7. ^ "GOP picks Reyes, Smith and Tarbet as finalists for Utah attorney general". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 14, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  8. ^ "Gov. Gary Herbert names Sean Reyes as Utah attorney general". Deseret News. December 23, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  9. ^ "Reyes sworn in as Utah's new Attorney General". 4Utah. December 30, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  10. ^ "Democrat Charles Stormont to Run for Attorney General". KUER-FM. March 18, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  11. ^ "Democratic lawyer, ranch manager to run for Utah attorney general". Deseret News. March 18, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  12. ^ "2014 Candidate Filings". Utah Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  13. ^ Leslie Curtis (AI) 1%, Gregory Hansen (C) 2%, Andrew McCullough (L) 4%