2017 Utah's 3rd congressional district special election
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After previously stating that he would not run for re-election, Jason Chaffetz announced on May 19 that he was resigning his seat in the House, effective June 30.[1] A special election was called to replace him with a filing period opening on May 19 and closing by June 30, an expected primary date of August 15, and an election day of November 7.[1]
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November 7, 2017
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Utah's 3rd congressional district | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Curtis: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Allen: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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A crowded field of candidates emerged to compete for spots in their respective parties' primaries. 15 Republicans, 4 Democrats, 2 Independent American Party members and 1 Libertarian declared their candidacy. Candidates could qualify for the primary ballot by either being nominated by delegates at their party's convention or gathering 7,000 signatures from registered voters. Those gathering signatures could also seek nomination at their party's convention. The Republican and Democratic parties held conventions June 17 to select a nominee from the declared.[2]
The primary election to determine the Republican Party's candidate for the general election was held on August 15. In addition to the partisan candidates, one unaffiliated candidate appeared on the general election ballot and two candidates ran as a write-in.[2][3]
The general election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Republican John Curtis was declared the winner and was subsequently seated by the U.S. House for a term that ends January 3, 2019.
Republican primary
The Republican primary was held on Tuesday August 15, 2017. Only registered Republicans living in the 3rd congressional district were able vote in the primary, though unaffiliated voters were allowed to affiliate as Republicans at polling locations on election day.[4]
Candidates
Fifteen candidates declared their candidacy for the Republican party nomination. While four candidates declared their intent to gather signatures, only two submitted signatures for verification by the required deadline. This election was the first time in Utah politics where three candidates were on the primary ballot since two candidates submitted enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot and the party nominated a third candidate at its convention.[3][4]
Nominated
- John Curtis, Mayor of Provo[5]
Eliminated in primary
- Tanner Ainge, son of Danny Ainge[6]
- Chris Herrod, real estate developer, former state representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012[7]
Ainge and Curtis submitted enough signatures to qualify for spots on the primary ballot. Curtis also participated in the convention process, but lost to Herrod who was nominated at the convention. Curtis would go on to win the primary.
Lost at convention
- Debbie Aldrich[3]
- Brad Daw, state representative[3]
- Margaret Dayton, state senator[3]
- Paul David Fife[3]
- Deidre Henderson, state senator[3]
- Damian Kidd, attorney[3]
- Keith Kuder[3]
- Stewart Peay, attorney[3]
- Shayne Horton Row[3]
Withdrawn before convention
- Jeremy Lewis Friedbaum[3]
- Mike Leavitt, not to be confused with former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt[3]
Failed to qualify for primary via signature gathering process
- Brigham Rhead Cottam[3]
Convention results
| Republican Convention | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | Pct. | Second ballot | Pct. | Third ballot | Pct. | Fourth ballot | Pct. | Fifth ballot | Pct. |
| Christopher Herrod | 200 | 25.64% | 238 | 31.23% | 264 | 34.87% | 337 | 44.81% | 415 | 55.11% |
| Deidre Henderson | 202 | 25.90% | 225 | 29.53% | 271 | 35.80% | 301 | 40.03% | 338 | 44.89% |
| Margaret Dayton | 145 | 18.59% | 140 | 18.37% | 113 | 14.93% | 68 | 9.04% | Eliminated | |
| Stewart Peay | 74 | 9.49% | 47 | 6.17% | 45 | 5.94% | 27 | 3.59% | Eliminated | |
| John Curtis | 71 | 9.10% | 52 | 6.82% | 35 | 4.62% | 19 | 2.53% | Eliminated | |
| Damian Kidd | 48 | 6.15% | 39 | 5.12% | 29 | 3.83% | Eliminated | |||
| Brad Daw | 19 | 2.44% | 12 | 1.57% | Eliminated | |||||
| Paul Fife | 15 | 1.92% | 9 | 1.18% | Eliminated | |||||
| Debbie Aldrich | 4 | 0.51% | Eliminated | |||||||
| Shayne Row | 2 | 0.26% | Eliminated | |||||||
| Keith Kuder | 0 | 0.00% | Eliminated | |||||||
Endorsements
Utah State Senators
- Jake Anderegg, Lehi[8]
- Dan Hemmert, Orem[8]
Utah State Representatives
- Marc Roberts, Salem[8]
- Norm Thurston, Provo[8]
- Tim Quinn, Heber[8]
Other Endorsements
- Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska[9]
U.S. Senators
Organizations
Individuals
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
John Curtis (R) | Chris Herrod (R) | Tanner Ainge (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Jones & Associates[16] | June 23 – July 5, 2017 | 199 | 4.9% | 27% | 9% | 7% | 57% |
Primary results
- Curtis—30–40%
- Curtis—40–50%
- Herrod—30–40%
- Herrod—40–50%
- Herrod—60–70%
- Ainge—30–40%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Curtis | 31,481 | 43.28% | |
| Republican | Chris Herrod | 23,686 | 32.57% | |
| Republican | Tanner Ainge | 17,565 | 24.15% | |
| Total votes | 72,732 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic Party
Four candidates declared their candidacy for the Democratic party nomination. Two candidates declared their intent to gather signatures but neither submitted signatures for verification prior to the required deadline.[3] On June 17, 2017, the Democratic Party formally nominated Kathie Allen as their candidate, eliminating the need for a primary election.[18]
Candidates
Nominated
- Kathie Allen, physician[3]
Lost at convention
Withdrawn before convention
- Faeiza Javed[3]
Convention results
| Democratic Convention | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | Pct. |
| Kathie Allen | 76% | |
| Carl Ingwell | ||
| Ben Frank | ||
Third-party and independent candidates
United Utah Party
The newly formed United Utah Party submitted the required number of signatures to be recognized as a political party in Utah on May 25, one day before the candidate filing deadline. Jim Bennett, the party's executive director, filed to run as its nominee but was rejected because the state had not yet processed the submitted signatures.[19]
The party took the issue to court, and a federal judge found that Utah had illegally violated Bennett's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by denying him a spot on the ballot. The state elections office immediately complied with the court order and declined to appeal the decision. Jim Bennett was placed on the general election ballot as the United Utah Party candidate.[20]
Nominee
- Jim Bennett, executive director of the United Utah Party and son of former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett[19]
Independent American Party
Candidates
Two candidates declared their intent to seek the nomination of the Independent American Party.
Nominated
- Jason Christensen[3]
Lost at convention
- Aaron Heineman[3]
Libertarian Party
Nominee
- Joe Buchman[3]
Independents
- Sean Whalen[3]
Write-in candidates
General election
The special general election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.
Candidates
Major
The following candidates qualified to appear in the state-sponsored debates:
- John Curtis (Republican), Mayor of Provo
- Kathie Allen (Democratic), physician
- Jim Bennett (United Utah), son of former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett, grandson of former U.S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett. Bennett is the first third-party candidate in history to cross the threshold to appear in the official debate commission debate.[21]
Minor
The following third-party or independent candidates qualified for the ballot but didn't poll high enough to currently qualify for the state-sponsored debates:
- Joe Buchman (Libertarian)
- Jason Christensen (Independent American)
- Sean Whalen (Independent)
Debate
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic | United Utah |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
|||||||
| John Curtis | Kathie Allen | Jim Bennett | |||||
| 1 | Oct. 20, 2017 | Utah Debate Commission | David Magleby | [22] | P | P | P |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[23] | Solid R | July 21, 2017 |
Endorsements
U.S. Governors
- Gary Herbert, Governor of Utah[24]
- Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and 2012 Republican nominee for President of the United States[25]
Utah Mayors
- Jeff Acerson, Lindon[26]
- Bert Wilson, Lehi[26]
- Gary Gygi, Cedar Hills[26]
- Wilford Clyde, Springville[26]
- Steve Leifson, Spanish Fork[26]
- Tom Dolan, Sandy[26]
- Brian Wall, Mapleton[26]
- J. H. Hadfield, American Fork[26]
- Randy Farnworth, Vineyard[26]
- Mark Thompson, Highland[26]
- Mike Caldwell, Ogden[26]
- Jon Pike, St George[26]
- Mark Jones, Nephi[26]
- Ted Eyre, Murray[26]
- Bill Applegarth, Riverton[26]
- Randy Brailsford, Salem[26]
- Russell Mangelson, Levan[26]
- Korry Soper, Manti[26]
- Lonny Ward, Genola[26]
- Sheldon Wimmer, Alpine[26]
- Richard Brunst, Orem[26]
- Kelvyn Cullimore, Cottonwood Heights[26]
Newspapers
Politicians
- Sam Granato, Salt Lake County Councillor (District 4)[29]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Kathie Allen (D) |
Jim Bennett (UU) |
Joe Buchman (L) |
Jason Christensen (IA) |
John Curtis (R) |
Sean Whalen (Ind.) |
Write-ins | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Jones & Associates[30] | October 9–16, 2017 | 410 | ± 4.8% | 19% | 9% | 3% | 2% | 46% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 17% |
| Dan Jones & Associates[31] | September 14–20, 2017 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 16.67% | 6.00% | – | – | 54.33% | – | – | – | – |
| Dan Jones & Associates[32] | August 30 – September 5, 2017 | 607 | ± 4.0% | 19.82% | 5.59% | 2.78% | 0.99% | 50.17% | 0.99% | 0.16% | 1.82% | 17.69% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Curtis | 85,751 | 58.02% | |
| Democratic | Kathie Allen | 37,801 | 25.58% | |
| United Utah | Jim Bennett | 13,747 | 9.30% | |
| Independent | Sean Whalen | 4,554 | 3.08% | |
| Libertarian | Joe Buchman | 3,644 | 2.47% | |
| Independent American | Jason Christensen | 2,286 | 1.55% | |
| Write-in | Brendan Phillips | 8 | 0.01% | |
| Write-in | Russell Paul Roesler | 5 | 0.00% | |
| Total votes | 147,796 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
By county
| County[34] | Curtis Votes | Curtis % | Allen Votes | Allen % | Bennett Votes | Bennett % | Whalen Votes | Whalen % | Buchman Votes | Buchman % | Christensen Votes | Christensen % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon | 1,675 | 47.36% | 1,327 | 37.52% | 304 | 8.59% | 114 | 3.22% | 68 | 1.92% | 49 | 1.39% | 3,537 |
| Emery | 944 | 69.16% | 228 | 16.70% | 109 | 7.99% | 30 | 2.20% | 22 | 1.61% | 32 | 2.34% | 1,365 |
| Grand | 997 | 32.24% | 1,618 | 52.33% | 172 | 5.56% | 209 | 6.76% | 55 | 1.78% | 41 | 1.33% | 3,092 |
| Salt Lake | 21,857 | 43.22% | 21,135 | 41.80% | 4,913 | 9.72% | 1,011 | 2.00% | 1,073 | 2.12% | 579 | 1.14% | 50,568 |
| San Juan | 1,470 | 49.07% | 1,062 | 35.45% | 180 | 6.01% | 131 | 4.37% | 73 | 2.44% | 80 | 2.67% | 2,996 |
| Utah | 55,136 | 69.33% | 10,334 | 12.99% | 7,553 | 9.50% | 2,885 | 3.63% | 2,212 | 2.78% | 1,409 | 1.77% | 79,529 |
| Wasatch | 3,660 | 55.00% | 2,074 | 31.17% | 514 | 7.72% | 170 | 2.55% | 140 | 2.10% | 96 | 1.44% | 6,654 |