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A judge has upheld a new political nominating system that allows Utah Republican candidates to bypass the party's caucus and convention system in favor of gathering voter signatures instead — dealing a defeat to the state GOP.

U.S. District Judge David Nuffer's ruling Friday evening comes a week before the Utah Republican Party is set to choose candidates for Congress, governor and other offices at its convention.

Nuffer said the change doesn't interfere with the state GOP's constitutional rights and is a legitimate action by the state to manage elections.

The Utah Republican Party sued after SB54 became law in 2014, creating the new system. The suit said it's not right for the state to dictate how political parties operate.

Nuffer's decision is the same conclusion reached by the Utah Supreme Court, which recently decided that the law wasn't too heavy-handed and that requiring major parties to accept signature-gathering candidates doesn't go too far in controlling how they operate.

The state's high court weighed in earlier this month after Nuffer asked for the justices' opinion.

Utah Republican Party officials didn't immediately have comment.

Gov. Gary Herbert, who is collecting signatures in case he loses at the convention, was not immediately available for comment.

The 2014 law came after a group of mostly moderate, well-funded Republicans pushed for changes to the caucus system following the surprise tea-party-fueled defeat of longtime GOP Sen. Bob Bennett. He was replaced by Sen. Mike Lee in 2010.

They said the nominating system favored more extreme candidates.

Caucuses and conventions require participants to attend meetings, something that can be difficult for voters who may not have flexible schedules or be willing to sit through the hourslong gatherings. Supporters of the measure say that creating a signature-gathering route to the ballot would give more people a chance to weigh in on how candidates are chosen.

The nominating process is especially important in deep-red Utah, where the GOP candidate usually wins the general election in races outside the Democratic base in Salt Lake City.

But the party argued that it's not right for the state to dictate how political parties operate. It said the caucus system holds politicians accountable to voters, and that the party shouldn't be forced to put on the ballot candidates who skip that process.

The issue spilled into the gubernatorial debate this week, when Republican challenger Jonathan Johnson questioned Herbert's decision to seek the nomination through signature gathering and the caucus-and-convention system.

Herbert said he was gathering signatures to push people to the caucuses. Johnson acknowledged that he planned to collect signatures, but he opted not to after visiting with rural state residents who told him the caucuses ensure they have a voice.