The two nominees won more than 258 delegates Saturday at the Davis County GOP Convention held at Woods Cross High School. Of the eight candidates, Bountiful residents Liljenquist and Mortensen were the only ones to address illegal immigration. Liljenquist called it a "drain on our resources," while Mortensen touted his unpaid lobbying at this year's Legislature to fight "illegal immigrants stealing children's IDs."

Liljenquist, who owns a call center in Roy, said he would bring his business experience and ability to stretch an existing budget to the Senate - "we must get creative as our tax revenue drops and our needs escalate."

Mortensen, a retired diplomat, said government is a service to the people, and that he would only represent taxpayers - "I don't want to give even the perception of being beholden to any special interest groups."

Two-term incumbent Dan Eastman is vacating the Senate seat, which resulted in a surge of candidate filings and made that race Utah's most heavily contested. The senator represents residents in Bountiful, West Bountiful, North Salt Lake, Woods Cross and parts of Centerville.

The District 23 race will be the only race to go to a primary for the Davis County Republican Party.

A lone Republican nominee was chosen for the two other contested races: state House District 14 and Davis County Commission. Incumbent Curt Oda beat out challenger Chris Williams for the legislative nomination, and West Point Mayor John Petroff got the nod against two other opponents for the commission seat. Candidates needed at least 60 percent of the vote to bypass a primary.

The Republican candidates for those and seven other legislative races are riding a strong wave of Davis County support for the GOP. All of the county's political representatives are Republicans.

"We're red, we're proud," said Ben Horsley, the county's GOP chairman. "We will vigorously fight for those seats to ensure they stay Republican."

mariav@sltrib.com