Syracuse • Within days of a top lawmaker saying he would refer fraud and bribery allegations against Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, to the attorney general, a majority of county GOP delegates voted against Lee’s reelection — but he still had enough support to make the primary ballot.

The representative received 45% of Davis County Republican Party delegates’ support Saturday, while his GOP challenger, longtime local politician Bob Stevenson, secured 55% of votes.

Lee only needed to surpass 30% to appear in the June primary election. Neither Lee nor Stevenson immediately responded to requests for comment on the results.

The contest came a few days after a pair of Utah businessmen — one former U.S. Senate candidate Jason Walton — accused Lee of fraudulently altering checks and suggesting he could use his position in the Legislature to secure government contracts to settle a debt to his employer. Lee has characterized the allegations as a “hit job.”

Stevenson, who has denied any involvement in publicizing the allegations against Lee, has been one of three Davis County commissioners since 2019, and was previously mayor of Layton.

He had already qualified for the primary ballot by collecting voter signatures — a path Lee unsuccessfully tried to repeal with a last-minute substitute to an elections bill in March.

Candidates take the stage

As he took the stage in an auditorium at Syracuse High School, Lee told delegates he has spent his four years in office “fighting in the trenches to keep Utah a good red state.”

“I’m passing solid legislation — over 20 bills that are designed to protect you, your wallets, your family, your children," Lee said.

According to the Utah Legislature’s website, 13 of the 33 pieces of legislation Lee has introduced have passed. None of the dozen bills he brought this year passed.

Lee, who has developed a reputation as a conservative culture warrior with a provocative social media presence, continued, “I’ve also made sure, while I’ve been in office, to push back against any of the woke garbage that is trying to infiltrate our state and change our families.”

The representative previously ran a personal social media account from which he made derogatory comments about women and LGBTQ+ people, and he continues to draw criticism for inflammatory posts he has made as a sitting legislator.

The Layton lawmaker made headlines during the most recent legislative session for a bill that aimed to prevent immigrants lacking permanent legal status from receiving public benefits, including vaccines, health coverage and food aid, and another that initially would have effectively erased transgender people from public life.

A handful of Lee’s supporters booed Stevenson as he approached the podium, and heckled the commissioner throughout his speech.

“I do believe the things that I have learned serving in local governments are things that could turn around the state, and that I would be able to, hopefully, not only mentor some people that may be younger and not have a lot of experience, but also be able to bring a whole lot of things to the party,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson told delegates his priorities as a lawmaker would be to reform property taxes, remove taxes on Social Security benefits and make housing more affordable.

“Am I running because there’s things I want to accomplish, or am I running because of Trevor Lee? I’m running because there’s things I want to get accomplished,” Stevenson said Saturday in an interview. “Trevor Lee just happens to live in my area.”

An attorney general investigation

Lee responded Wednesday to the fraud allegations against him, telling The Salt Lake Tribune: “This was something I did as a stupid college kid and paid my debt,” seemingly referring to the altered checks. “I’ve gotten married and I’m now the proud father of 5 wonderful children.”

“My constituents understand that this is just a hit job to support a member of the good ole boys club,” he added.

Stevenson said his campaign was not involved in setting up the website stoptrevorlee.com, where Walton labeled Lee an “admitted scammer.”

“I don’t even know these people. No one’s talked to me, no one said a word,” Stevenson told The Tribune in a Wednesday night interview.

“I’ve always tried to, when I run for an office, talk about things that we want to do and not get caught up in what my opponent’s doing,” Stevenson said.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said “we are carefully reviewing” the allegations, and told FOX 13 News on Thursday that he asked the attorney general’s office to investigate.

Schultz, who at the beginning of Saturday’s convention stood in the wings eating popcorn, has given significant financial support to Lee’s campaign in previous election cycles.

Political action committees led by Schultz donated approximately $22,000 to Lee’s reelection campaign in 2024. So far this year, the Schultz-controlled House Republican Election Committee PAC has given $2,500 to Lee.

Minus personal loans each candidate has made to their campaigns, Stevenson had a narrow fundraising edge on Lee in the first quarter of the year — Stevenson raised $25,685 while Lee raised $23,026.