One of Utah’s freshman congressmen narrowly survived the Republican 2022 Nominating Convention, failing to secure his party’s nomination and setting the stage for a primary election in June to appear on the November ballot.
Rep. Blake Moore, who was elected to his first term representing Utah’s 1st Congressional District in 2020, will move on to the Utah primary on June 28 to face Andrew Badger, who on Saturday almost clinched the Republican nomination during the convention over the weekend. Moore joins the rest of his Republican counterparts, as each incumbent in Utah will face a primary election in their reelection efforts.
In the northern Utah 1st Congressional District, winning the GOP nomination is tantamount to election to the House because the seat strongly favors Republicans.
After three rounds of balloting by state delegates during the nomination convention, Moore walked away with 40.7% of the vote compared to Badger’s 59.2%, just 0.8 percentage points shy of securing the nomination. Moore’s campaign said the incumbent had already planned to gear up for a primary election because Republican challenger Tina Cannon qualified for the ballot via signature-gathering in April.
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“Blake Moore is the only primary candidate who made the ballot through both broad support from delegates at Utah’s Republican Convention as well as raising 7,000 signatures, demonstrating his wide appeal as a strong and effective conservative representing Utah’s First District,” Moore’s campaign said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “His candidacy is grounded in substance over artistry, and he is laser-focused on delivering results for northern Utah; he continues to communicate his aspirational, pro-growth vision for our country as the primary election approaches.”
Candidates must secure at least 60% of the delegate vote to become the sole nominee. Because neither candidate surpassed that threshold, the top two — in this case, Moore and Badger — will both appear on the primary ballot alongside Tina Cannon, who qualified for the ballot via signature gathering.
All four of Utah’s incumbent congressional representatives will face primaries this year despite most receiving majority support from GOP delegates. Sen. Mike Lee overwhelmingly received the Republican nomination with 70% of the vote but will still face two opponents, Becky Edwards and Ally Isom, who gathered enough signatures to appear on the ballot.
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Moore’s narrow survival to stay in the running comes even as the incumbent has enjoyed a stable lead in fundraising over his opponents over the last few months. The GOP freshman reported more than $500,000 cash on hand at the beginning of April compared to Badger’s $16,896.
The two Republicans, along with Cannon, will face off on June 28 to vie for the GOP nomination. The seat isn’t likely to be competitive, as Utah is a reliably red state and the state hasn’t had a Democrat representing the 1st since 1981.
