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Reps. Blake Moore, Chris Stewart, John Curtis and Burgess Owens all won their primary elections on Tuesday night. All four races were called for the incumbents by The Associated Press less than an hour after polls closed.
[Sen. Lee wins primary | Utah Legislature results | Vote counts | Election night updates]
The four candidates mentioned the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade during their victory speeches. Stewart said he and Owens spoke with former President Donald Trump earlier this week. Stewart said he told the former president, “six, three.”
”Six, three. Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land because of President Trump and those courageous members of the Supreme Court,” Stewart said as the crowd cheered.
Owens told the crowd that never before has there been a time when the American people have been “waking up.”
”Roe versus Wade. We started to realize that the states should be controlling these issues,” Owens said.
Moore, seeking his second term in office, fended off a challenge from his political right. Former Morgan County Commissioner Tina Cannon and former defense intelligence analyst Andrew Badger attempted to paint Moore as too moderate for Republican voters.
Moore had just under 60% support and led his two rivals by nearly 35 points after early returns on Tuesday night. Democratic nominee Rick Jones will face off against Moore in November.
Moore, who arrived at the event shortly after other delegates talked, said he and other Utah representatives are eager to get back to Washington.
”Americans are waking up to what Utah is known all along,” Moore said during his victory speech. “The conservative principles will drive upward mobility, strong energy policy, strong presence in the world, and we need to drive that home.”
Stewart pulled away quickly from attorney Erin Rider in Utah’s second district, sprinting out to an early 44-point lead over Rider. Stewart won former Trump’s endorsement on Monday and received 84% of the delegate vote at the GOP convention.
“Republicans are going to take the House of Representatives in November,” Stewart said Tuesday night. “Nancy Pelosi will not be the Speaker of the House in November because of you.”
Stewart moves on to face Democrat Nick Mitchell and United Utah candidate Jay McFarland in November. McFarland unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District in 2020.
Curtis faced off against former Rep. Chris Herrod for the third time in four elections, having defeated him previously in 2017 and 2018. In a repeat of that 2018 contest, Curtis jumped out to a huge lead, pulling ahead of Herrod by a 72-27% margin. He defeated Herrod four years ago by a 73-27% tally.
Curtis takes on Democratic nominee Glenn Wright in the general election.
Freshman Burgess Owens is in his second straight primary election after winning the GOP nomination in a four-way race in 2020. He’s facing political newcomer Jake Hunsaker who attended BYU and worked for Google. Owens’ reelection was endorsed by Trump on Monday.
“I’m part of a delegation that truly punches above our weight,” Owens said. “We’re a delegation that represents the Utah values of faith, family free market, education.”
Owens led Hunsaker by 20 points after the first round of returns on Tuesday, 60-40%. Owens faces Democrat Darlene McDonald and United Utah Party candidate January Walker in the November election.
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