This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Republican delegates in House District 52 chose Dan McCay, a real estate attorney and conservative activist, to take the place of Rep. Carl Wimmer in the upcoming legislative session.
McCay beat out five other candidates on the first ballot, winning the support of 43 of the 79 Republican delegates to secure the victory in the southwestern Salt Lake County district.
McCay, a self-described conservative with a libertarian bent who is the state director for the conservative Washington-based group FreedomWorks, said he plans to focus on education and health-care issues.
"The first thing for me is finding my parking space," he joked Friday. "Second, I am going to be looking to get involved in education issues. I'm also really interested in getting involved in Medicaid reform. I know those are two kind of divergent issues, but the way Medicaid is increasing its annual costs, it's one of the largest threats we have to our education spending."
Herriman Mayor Josh Mills finished second in the voting. Mills had the endorsement and backing of Wimmer, who resigned from the Legislature to run for Congress in Utah's newly created 4th Congressional District.
McCay was supported by Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love, who is also seeking the Republican nomination for the 4th District. Love supporters sought to portray McCay's victory as a win in a proxy war.
"I think [Love supporters] perceived it that way, but I tried hard not to make it that way," McCay said. "I certainly think that Mia Love will be a fantastic representative for the state of Utah, but I didn't intend for this to be a Carl versus Mia symbol."
McCay has bachelor's and master's degrees in education and spent 2½ years teaching at a private school before earning a law degree from Willamette University in Salem, Ore.
McCay believes his education background was important to delegates in the district and hopes to put that experience to use. He said much of what the state has done to improve education has missed the mark and "would have benefited had there been someone with an education background involved."
He lives in Riverton with his wife, Tawnee, and their four children.