Utah Gov. Spencer Cox fended off a challenge from the right in Tuesday's primary, defeating state Rep. Phil Lyman, who had the endorsement of the state Republican Party, according to the Associated Press.
A relative moderate, Mr. Cox faced opposition from Mr. Lyman and some of his Republican colleagues who said he wasn't conservative enough. Mr. Cox has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald J. Trump and has not endorsed him in his third presidential bid.
Cox, serving his first four-year term as lieutenant governor, failed to win the party's endorsement for reelection at the state Republican convention in Salt Lake City in the spring, where crowds booed him as he was forced to defend his Republican credentials.
Despite intraparty divisions, Cox was widely popular among Utahns during his first term, and his nomination makes a second term even more likely. The Utah governor's office has been Republican-controlled since 1985.
Cox will face off against Democratic candidate and state Rep. Brian King, a former minority leader in the state Assembly, in the November election.
Lyman, a former county commissioner, is known for taking part in an illegal ATV ride to protest a federal decision to ban cars from his local canyon in 2014. Lyman and his supporters viewed the protest as an act of civil disobedience, and President Trump pardoned him in 2020.
Trump did not get involved in the gubernatorial race, but Lyman emphasized his support for the former president throughout his campaign.
