SALT LAKE CITY — Republican candidate for governor Phil Lyman is asking the Utah Supreme Court to throw Governor Spencer Cox off the November ballot, contesting the results of the GOP primary.
"Petitioner Phil Lyman respectfully petitions this Court for an Extraordinary Writ of declaratory relief specifying the rights, obligations, or existence of facts of the provisions in claims for relief," Lyman wrote in the petition to the state's top court. "Further seeking injunctive relief to set aside and annul the 2024 Primary elections for the URP candidates who received 60% or more votes at the URP nominating conventions held on April 27, 2024, qualifying them as the party nominees through the party’s convention process... ordering judicial removal for malfeasance in office. Additionally, Petitioner seeks injunctive relief for the production of documents, records, or any other evidence necessary to determine the legality or illegality of any petition nominating candidates, and votes cast or counted."
Lyman is asking to have Cox removed from office and replaced by Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, until after the election. His request to have only convention winners as the official candidates would not only impact the governor's race, but also the U.S. Senate, congressional and attorney general's races.
"Spencer Cox and Deidre Henderson knowingly and unconstitutionally forced multiple Republican convention winners to go to an illegitimate primary, a most severe form of election fraud that harmed not only the candidates via the substantial money spent, but also harmed Utah Republican voters who were mislead to believe this fake primary was a part of the nomination process,” Lyman said in a statement sent to news outlets overnight Saturday. "Cox and Henderson have attempted to subvert the constitution and bylaws of the Utah Republican Party by misapplying Utah state law for their own personal gain. They must be held accountable."
Lyman overwhelmingly won the Utah GOP convention nomination, but ended up losing the Republican primary to Cox by 37,525 votes. Cox had gathered signatures to get on the ballot. Under Utah law, candidates can either go through the caucus/convention system, gather signatures to earn a spot on the primary ballot, or both.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Lyman raised questions about the signatures gathered by the Cox campaign, even though the Davis County Clerk declared they were valid.
In a statement on Friday, the Cox campaign blasted the litigation.
"Rep. Lyman’s attempt to undo a democratic election rather than honor the will of the people is not just sad, but dangerous," campaign spokesman Matt Lusty said. "It’s the kind of action you see in a banana republic and not the United States of America. Half the candidates in the primary election lost. In our proud American tradition, almost all of them did so with grace and poise. We encourage Mr. Lyman and his camp to do the same."
As of Friday, there was no indication if the Utah Supreme Court had agreed to take up the petition. Lyman filed it pro se, meaning he is acting as his own attorney.
Read Lyman's petition here:
