Resolution to Interpret the Meaning of “Republican Votes” in RRS Formula 

Sponsored by Lowell Nelson

Adopted by the Utah Republican Party State Convention on May 17, 2025

WHEREAS, the Utah Republican Party Constitution, Article XII, Section 1, Paragraph A, says the following, in part (underlining added):

Relative Republican strength shall be calculated by aggregating the total combined county Republican votes cast at the previous election for Governor/Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, and State Treasurer, excluding the vote for any candidate who had no opposition.

WHEREAS, historically, the Republican Party nominee in the General Election was either the party’s nominating convention winner, or the party’s Primary Election winner; and the votes that were cast for that nominee were used to calculate Relative Republican Strength (RRS); and,

WHEREAS, the 2024 gubernatorial election was among seven candidates, two of whom were Republicans (Phil Lyman—the party’s nominating convention winner and general election nominee according to the party constitution, and Spencer Cox—the party’s primary election winner and general election nominee according to state statute), which was a novel situation that introduced ambiguity into the definition of “Republican votes;” and,

WHEREAS, Republican candidate Phil Lyman received 200,551 votes (20.4%), and Republican candidate Spencer Cox received 781,431 votes (79.6%), making this ambiguity a significant factor in the computation of RRS; and,

WHEREAS, ignoring the votes cast for either Republican candidate disenfranchises party members (and their respective counties and precincts) who cast their votes for that candidate;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT—for this four-year cycle (2025 through 2028)—Relative Republican Strength (RRS) computed by the state party and county parties shall combine the number of votes cast for Phil Lyman and for Spencer Cox when determining the number of Republican votes cast for governor.

CO-SPONSORS: Blair Brandenburg, Marci Campbell, Olivia Dawn, Arnold Gaunt, Jason Hackett, Becky Hope, Jon-David Jorgensen, Bob McEntee, Blaine Nay, Neil Sebring