Lyman petitions court to be named GOP candidate and have Cox removed from office

SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Phil Lyman has petitioned the Utah Supreme Court, asking it to remove Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson from office for “malfeasance” and wants the primary election results disregarded in select races.

Lyman, in the petition, requests he be certified as the Republican nominee for governor and be placed on the November ballot.

Under the petition, President of the Senate, Stuart Adams, would be appointed as Utah’s governor until the first Monday in January, after November election winners take office.

A spokesman from the Cox/Henderson campaign called the petition sad and dangerous.

The document lists Lyman as the Petitioner and lists Cox, Henderson, Utah Republican Party Chair Robert Axson, and the Utah Republican Party as respondents. The petition contests the results of the June 25 primary election and challenges the respondents for failing to put candidates nominated through the convention process who received 60% of the vote, on the ballot.

“And the reason he’s sued Axson, is to have Axson ordered to put him on the ballot,” KSL legal analyst Greg Skordas told KSL NewsRadio. “And he sued the Utah Republican Party for the same reason.”

The Cox and Henderson campaign statement attributed to spokesman Matt Lusty said in part:

Rep. Lyman’s attempt to undo a democratic election rather than honor the will of the people is not just sad, but dangerous. 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.

Lyman also wants the delegate information lists from all 29 counties and wants the Utah Republican Party to notify and certify all party members and county clerks of all the candidates who received 60% of the caucus vote. He wants Henderson to issue a statement to the entire state of Utah “explaining the mistake related to the URP primary election. This statement should list the names of those party nominees who received 60% of the caucus vote and who will be listed on the November 5, 2024.”

This request would also invalidate the results for Rep. John Curtis, who won the race for U.S. Senate by 67,951 votes over convention winner and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs.

It also asks that the names of all individuals who signed candidate nominating petitions be made public. They are currently protected but Lyman claims government records access should make them public.

The petition states:

The primary election held for the office of the Governor on June 25, 2024, was improperly conducted for the office of Governor and Lieutenant Governor and should be set aside because the improper conduct will change the result for that office in accordance with UCA § 20A-9-401, respectively.

In April’s GOP convention, three incumbents — Cox, Rep. Celeste Maloy and Rep. Blake Moore — were defeated by a vote of delegates but advanced to the primary election. Cox had already gathered the signatures by the convention, making his performance there moot. At the convention, a 60% vote for Colby Jenkins would have eliminated Maloy from the primary, but she hung on and received 43% of the vote, enough to keep her in the primary that she narrowly won. A recount is underway. 

You can track that recount right here.

At the convention Lyman had 67% of the delegates’ vote to Cox’s 32%. In the June primary, Cox defeated Lyman 54.4% to 45.6%.

A document obtained by KSL TV from the Utah Supreme Court states the petition was filed without a $375 filing fee or an application for a waiver of a filing fee. It says the fee or waiver must be submitted in seven days, dated Aug. 1.

“Our campaign also invites Mr. Lyman and his running mate, Natalie Clawson, to accept the election results, stop misleading citizens about Utah’s laws for ballot access (laws that Mr. Lyman voted for), and help unite the Republican Party and its members by supporting the GOP ticket as it moves to a general election against a liberal Democrat opponent,” Lusty said.

Justice John A. Pearce has recused himself from participation in resolving the petition. A judge from another court will be invited to sit in Pearce’s place, according to a Utah Supreme Court Document.

Lyman’s petition is below:

Election petition to Utah Supreme Court by LarryDCurtis on Scribd

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The original version of this story incorrectly stated Cox’s margin of victory over Lyman in the primary. The correct numbers are now included.