WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) - The Latest on the Utah Republican convention (all times local):
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8:10 p.m.
Mitt Romney won’t say whether he will support President Donald Trump for reelection in 2020.
The former Republican presidential nominee told reporters Saturday that he wants to see what the field of candidates looks like before making any commitment.
“In terms of what happens in 2020, we’re going to wait and see who runs,” he said backstage at the Utah Republican convention. “If I had to make that decision today, I’d be missing the opportunity to find out what they’re going to do for Utah.”
Romney is seeking Utah’s GOP nomination for Senate, but was forced into a primary race Saturday against state lawmaker Mike Kennedy.
He has said that he supports many of Trump’s policies but is also not afraid to criticize the president when necessary.
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7:10 p.m.
U.S. Rep. John Curtis failed to secure his party’s nomination for reelection at the state’s GOP convention and must now head to a primary in June.
Neither Curtis nor former state lawmaker Chris Herrod won the 60 percent necessary to win the Republican nomination Saturday.
After two rounds of voting, Curtis won 58.75 percent of the vote, just 1.25 percentage points short of the threshold to grab the party’s nomination.
They will now face off in a primary battle June 26.
The former Provo mayor entered office last year in a special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District.
Whoever wins at the June primary will be the favorite in the largely Republican district at the general election in November.
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6:40 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Mia Love is coasting to the general election after she was formally nominated for reelection at Utah’s Republican Party convention.
The two-term incumbent was unopposed at the convention in suburban Salt Lake City on Saturday. She now looks ahead to what is predicted to be a tight general election matchup in November against Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. His nomination will be decided at a Democratic convention next weekend.
Their upcoming matchup in Utah’s 4th Congressional District is the only race in the overwhelmingly Republican state expected to be competitive in the general election.
Love became the first black Republican woman in Congress when she won office in 2014. She was formerly the mayor of Saratoga Springs, 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.
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5:10 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart has held off a pair of opponents to win the Republican nomination and head smoothly into his reelection race in November.
The three-term lawmaker defeated a state party official and a businessman on Saturday at the state Republican convention.
Stewart will be the heavy favorite in the solidly Republican 2nd Congressional District. It covers Salt Lake City and a wide swath of the state’s south and west. He last won reelection in 2016 by nearly 30 percentage points.
The former Air Force pilot, businessman and author is a member of the House Intelligence Committee. He has defended President Donald Trump against claims of Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election.
Stewart was first elected to Congress in 2012.
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4:25 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop held off a challenger at the state GOP convention and has been chosen as the Republican nominee as he pursues what he says will be his final term in office.
The eight-term lawmaker defeated a local businessman on Saturday at the state Republican convention. Bishop is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee that makes policy decisions for the nation’s federally controlled lands and energy production.
Bishop will be the overwhelming favorite in the general election in the solidly Republican 1st Congressional District. In 2016, he won reelection by 40 percentage points. He has been in office since 2002.
If he is reelected and Republicans retain their House majority, the next term would be his last as Natural Resources Committee chairman due to term limit rules.
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2:10 p.m.
The Utah Republican convention is being roiled by internal party quarrels that have delegates shouting and booing.
The rules disagreements Saturday come amid ongoing contention over a new law that allows candidates to bypass conventions on their way to the primary ballot by gathering signatures instead.
The debate among core party members lasted more than hour and delayed voting on nominees for races including U.S. Senate, where former presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a contender.
He is among the candidates who have opted to gather signatures, securing his place on the ballot. He’s also seeking support from party delegates at the convention.
Supporters say signature-gathering helps more people get involved in the process, and it’s been used by more-moderate candidates to win races even if they lose at convention.
Conservative critics say the measure undermines the state’s caucus-and-convention system.
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1:50 p.m.
Michelle Cluff is hoping that Mitt Romney becomes Utah’s next Republican Senate nominee.
The 31-year-old delegate from the Salt Lake City suburb of Riverton said during her party’s state convention Saturday that a divisive “brawl” of a primary would break out if Romney lost to one of his lesser-known opponents.
“Policy-wise, there’s very little distinguishing them,” said the stay-at-home mother of three. She walked around the convention grounds in suburban Salt Lake City while pushing her four-month-old baby in a stroller. “And Mitt Romney can actually go in and make things happen.”
“Romney is ready to hit the ground running,” she said.
The former presidential nominee is facing off against nearly a dozen opponents in the race to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch.
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12:30 p.m.
A rural Utah county commissioner who served jail time after leading an ATV protest ride challenging federal management of Western public lands has clinched the Republican nomination for a state legislature seat.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports Phil Lyman got the nod at the Utah GOP convention on Saturday in the race to replace firebrand Rep. Mike Noel.
Lyman became a cause celebre in the public-lands debate when he led ATV riders through a southern Utah canyon to protest federal land managers’ decision to close the area in an effort to protect Native American cliff dwellings.
Lyman has said he hopes to continue Noel’s advocacy for state control of federal public lands so rural southern Utah residents can ranch, log and mine.
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12:05 p.m.
One of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history has bid farewell to Utah Republican Party delegates after more than four decades in office.
Orrin Hatch gave brief remarks to the state Republican convention in suburban Salt Lake City Saturday, thanking the state that sent him to the Senate for 41 years.
His retirement comes none too soon for some party loyalists who feared that he might break a promise not to seek an eighth term.
Hatch steps down paving the way for former presidential contender Mitt Romney to take his place. Romney is Hatch’s hand-picked successor.
Romney is looking to secure the GOP nomination for Senate later on Saturday.
Hatch did not offer any endorsement for Romney during his brief convention remarks.
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11:15 a.m.
Not everyone at Utah’s Republican Party convention is eager to give Mitt Romney the party’s nomination for Senate.
Marianne Henderson is wearing a T-shirt for State Rep. Mike Kennedy, a doctor who is challenging Romney on Saturday.
Romney represents “a different brand of Republicanism” says Henderson, who is a 57-year-old retiree and delegate from the town of Alpine 25 miles south of Salt Lake City.
She says that Kennedy is more fiscally conservative and holds “conservative principles.”
Matthew Green takes issue with healthcare reforms Romney oversaw as governor of Massachusetts. He believes Romney is too willing to spend government money.
The 44-year-old doctor from the Provo suburb of Highland would also like to see Kennedy win the nomination. But he’s prepared for Romney to win anyway, given his campaign’s deep pockets and national name recognition.
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10:25 a.m.
Several core members of Utah’s Republican Party are saying Mitt Romney would be a good senator for Utah as the former presidential candidate takes questions from a gathered crowd.
Retired accountant Max Collotzi said at the Utah GOP convention on Saturday that Romney’s extensive resume would him a leg up on the job.
The 78-year-old from West Valley City says Romney’s name recognition will help him in the state where he’s a popular adopted son and the heavy favorite to win the race.
Nearby, a trio of women from Farmington say they’re longtime Romney fans who are happy to support him again. Fifty-seven-year-old teacher Kim Klinker says he’s honest and can get things done.
He’s already secured a spot on the ballot by gathering signatures, but also seeking the support of party stalwarts who tend to lean far-right.
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8:16 a.m.
Utah Republican party members are gathering to decide if U.S. Senate hopeful Mitt Romney will be forced into a primary as they choose nominees for races ranging from Congress to state Legislature.
The group of several thousand core party members will talk with candidates Saturday at decked-out booths and listen to speeches.
Romney will face 11 other candidates, largely political newcomers who say he shouldn’t get an automatic pass even in a state where he is a popular adopted son.
Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Reps. Rob Bishop, John Curtis and Chris Stewart are all facing off against challengers and looking to secure the path to re-election.
U.S. Rep. Mia Love is unopposed in seeking the nomination.
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