This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Tuesday's primary election has some intrigue — perhaps more than the typical ho-hum runoffs in Utah where Republican incumbents usually face no primary foes and Democrats are an afterthought.
This year features a hotly contested and expensive campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination between Gov. Gary Herbert and challenger Jonathan Johnson.
Another noteworthy question is who will emerge among nine contenders as the top two vote-getters for mayor of soon-to-be Millcreek City.
And, of course, which Democrat — Misty Snow or Jonathan Swinton — will earn the right to be trounced by Republican Sen. Mike Lee in November.
But perhaps the most tantalizing aspect of this primary is whether GOP voters will follow the path of party leaders or rebel.
Many Republican leaders have taken stands against the Count My Vote compromise bill passed by the Legislature that allows for an alternative signature-gathering path to the primary ballot besides the traditional caucus-convention system.
But the most extreme reaction has come from the Utah County Republican Party, which has blatantly violated its own rules by taking sides in GOP runoffs — actively supporting those who won in the convention against those who gathered signatures.
The county GOP's bylaws say that all party officers are required to maintain neutrality through the primary when there is a contest between Republican candidates. The party's constitution states party bylaws and rules must comply with state law, which does allow for candidates to gather signatures.
That hasn't stopped the party from steering its resources to actively campaign for convention winners against signature gatherers in three county legislative races.
Some party officers have taken a public stand in the matchup between Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, and his challenger Chris Herrod. Bramble notched more votes than Herrod in the convention, but he also gathered signatures and was the sponsor of SB54, the Count My Vote compromise.
The party distributed a hit piece against signature gatherer Mike Brenny, who is running against Cory Maloy, the convention survivor, asserting that Brenny used to be a Democrat.
That logic would suggest Rep. Jason Chaffetz should not be qualified to run as a Republican since he was the Utah co-chairman for Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis in 1988.
It also would disqualify Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, who served in the Legislature as a Democrat before switching parties, and Republican legislative candidate from Carbon County Christine Watkins, who previously served in the House as a Democrat.
The party flier also noted that Maloy was a loyal supporter of former President Ronald Reagan, who used to be a Democrat.
On a Republican "Save Our Caucus" Facebook page, party insider wannabe Brandon Beckham posted a picture of Bramble with the senator's quote: "I will stand firm to the agreements we made with Count My Vote in SB54."
So now, according to this logic, a legislator saying he will keep his promises is a bad thing.