Trump Pick to Replace Romney In Utah Poised to Lose As MAGA Republicans Trail In Statewide Polls

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Former President Donald Trump appears likely to be rebuffed by Utah Republican primary voters as his pick to replace Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) is trailing the more moderate candidate.

Trump endorsed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs (R) in the GOP primary to replace the retiring Trump critic, but according to the latest polling State. Rep. John Curtis (R-03) is the clear favorite to win. “[Staggs is] running for the seat of one of the worst senators in the history of the Republican Party, Mitt Romney. You don’t get much worse,” Trump fumed in a clip Saturday. “Some people may not like me saying that but that’s the way I feel. You don’t get much worse.”

A new Utah Public Opinion Pulse poll found Curtis with 48% of the vote and Staggs with only 28% heading into the final stretch of the Tuesday primary. The statewide poll, which was conducted between June 20-21st, also found incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox (R) with 55% of the vote over the more pro-Trump candidate state Rep. Phil Lyman (R).

Cox, Curtis as well, is running without the official nomination of his party, after the GOP state convention decided to nominate Lyman – given his staunch pro-Trump rhetoric. Cox, a more moderate Republican, has long been an advocate for bipartisanship and came under fire from some in his party for greeting President Joe Biden when he landed in Utah last August.

“There has been some question over whether or not the governor of the state of Utah would welcome the president of a different party. I think it’s insane that we are having those conversations in our country today,” he continued, adding :

I so appreciate my blue state partners, governors who welcome President Trump. And we welcome President Biden here. We honor this office of the presidency. When the president succeeds, America succeeds, and we want to find ways to work together.

Cox has signaled he does not plan to endorse Trump or Biden in the 2024 election, having told NewsNation in March that the country is “ready for something else.” Trump, whose popularity in Utah has long been far lower than in other ruby-red states, has not made an endorsement in Cox’s primary.