Even though Utah’s Republican primary this year was packed full of high-profile and heated races — including the gubernatorial race between Gov. Spencer Cox and Rep. Phil Lyman, a crowded GOP contest to replace outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney, and a neck-and-neck battle for the 2nd Congressional District — primary voter turnout was low compared to the last presidential election year, in 2020, when voter turnout reached record highs across the country and in Utah.
Out of 902,611 active registered Republican voters, only 430,137 cast votes in this year’s GOP primary, or 47.65%, according to election results certified by Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Monday.
Compare that to the 527,178 active registered Republican voters who voted in the statewide GOP gubernatorial primary in 2020, when then-lieutenant governor Cox competed against Jon Huntsman Jr., Thomas Wright and former House Speaker Greg Hughes. That year in June, historical state election records show Utah had 778,623 active registered Republican voters. Of those, about 67.7% participated in that primary.
This year’s Republican primary turnout falls closer to the 2022 primary, when 416,703 Republicans voted in the U.S. Senate contest between incumbent Sen. Mike Lee, and his challengers Ally Isom and Becky Edwards.
Though this year marks a presidential election year, when voter participation usually peaks, last month’s primary saw only 13,434 more Republican voters participate compared to the 2022 primary. That year, the state’s tally of active registered Republican voters in June was 874,114, so statewide turnout for the Republican primary for U.S. Senate was about 47.67% — a sliver more than this year’s.
Primaries typically don’t see as much voter participation as general elections — but this year saw comparatively lower numbers for a presidential year, especially compared to record turnout levels in 2020. Even though the state had nearly 124,000 more active registered GOP voters on its rolls compared to 2020, nearly 100,000 fewer participated in this year’s primary election.
Certified election results show turnout varied widely county to county, with the highest Republican turnout percentage-wise in rural Rich County, with nearly 70.8% (846 ballots cast). In sheer numbers, urban Salt Lake County saw the most votes cast, with 114,296, but that made up about 47% turnout.
Though Lyman lost to Cox by 37,525 votes (45.6% to Cox’s 54.5%), one of Lyman’s strongholds, his home county of San Juan, saw one of the highest turnouts with about 64% (2,114 votes), while another southern Utah community where he won big, Washington County, had a 53% turnout (36,648 votes).
However, the conservative Wasatch Front area of Utah County saw the lowest GOP voter turnout, with 43.56% (92,045 votes). Tooele County ranked second lowest, with 43.62% (8,575 votes).
Read the full story at utahnewsdisptach.com.
