SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – The mayor in the Mormon stronghold of Provo won a three-way Republican primary Tuesday in the race to replace former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, putting him on track to clinch the congressional seat in the general election in the overwhelming GOP district.
John Curtis pulled off the win despite being dogged by attack ads from deep-pocketed outside groups in a race whose three candidates were emblematic of the divisions roiling the GOP under President Donald Trump.
Curtis is a former Democrat who was the most moderate of the Republican candidates running in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, which Chaffetz represented until June when he abruptly resigned, citing a desire to spend more time with family.
Chaffetz, a five-term Republican, carved out a reputation for using the House Oversight committee he chaired to run aggressive investigations of Hillary Clinton before the 2016 presidential elections. He’s since taken a role as a Fox News commentator and announced he will be one of six visiting fellows at Harvard University this fall.
His departure opened up a congressional seat in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 5-to-1 in an area that stretches from the Salt Lake City suburbs and several ski towns southeast to Provo and Utah coal country.