Republican delegates from Provo were evenly split Tuesday evening between John Curtis and Chris Herrod, as they sought to name a replacement for former House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander, who resigned after November's election.

"The two candidates who worked the hardest are the two candidates who are left," Herrod said.

He is a long-time Utah County Republican activist, who works as a real estate developer.

His opponent, Curtis, followed a more circuitous path to the doorstep of political office.

Curtis ran as a Democrat in 2000 against Provo Republican Sen. Curtis Bramble.

He insists he only ran as a Democrat to give Utah County voters a choice and says he is a "lifelong Republican."

He is the chief operating officer for a Provo-based company that makes equipment for shooting ranges.

The 73 delegates spent more than two hours narrowing the field of 10 candidates to the final two. Huntsman is expected to interview both men before naming Alexander's replacement in House District 62.

Alexander resigned to accept a part-time unpaid post in the Governor's Office of Economic Development, where he will act as a liaison between businesses who want to relocate to Utah and the government.

He spent 16 years in the House rising to the No. 2 post, where he was known as an aggressive arm-twister.

Some lawmakers, including a few Republicans, found him abrasive, but he was also credited for forging a compromise on tax issues during the final days of the last Legislative session.

Alexander did not endorse any of the 10 candidates who filed to replace him. Though he did vote as a delegate.

"They were very qualified, very good people," he said.

House leaders will swear in either Curtis or Herrod with the other incoming lawmakers on Jan. 15, the first day of the 2007 Legislative session.

mcanham@sltrib.com