Who has Trump endorsed ahead of Utah’s primary elections?

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah’s primary elections are slated for Tuesday, and it could prove a test on how much sway former President Donald Trump has among Republican Utah voters.

So far, Trump has endorsed only three Utah Republicans running for federal office: Trent Staggs in the senate race, Celeste Maloy in the race for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, and Burgess Owens, who is running unopposed in the primary for Utah’s 4th Congressional District.

Trump has not explicitly endorsed a candidate in the Republican primary for Utah’s gubernatorial race, in which current Gov. Spencer Cox is facing a challenge from state Rep. Phil Lyman, who bills himself as a “pro-MAGA” candidate.

Trent Staggs

Over the weekend, Trump endorsed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs in the race to replace Sen. Mitt Romney. The former president praised Staggs, calling him “very conservative” and “MAGA all the way.”

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“[Staggs is] running for the seat of one of the worst senators in the history of the Republican Party, Mitt Romney. You don’t get much worse,” Trump said in a short video posted online Saturday. “Some people may not like me saying that but that’s the way I feel. You don’t get much worse.”

Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for the presidential election, also backed Staggs ahead of the Utah Republican Party nominating convention in April, propelling him to victory among state delegates.

Yet, a last-minute Noble Predictive Insights poll released Monday week put U.S. Rep. John Curtis as the primary race’s clear frontrunner. The more moderate Curtis — who currently represents Utah’s Third Congressional District — led Staggs by 20 percentage points, with 48% support of likely primary GOP voters to Staggs’ 28%.

The two other candidates in the race, former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, and entrepreneur Jason Walton, failed to get double-digit support. Wilson, Walton, and Curtis all got on the primary ballot through the signature-gathering process.

The winner of this week’s primary will go on to face Democratic candidate Caroline Gleich in the November general election.

Celeste Maloy

The other Utah Republican whom Trump endorsed in recent days was U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy, who is running for re-election in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District.

In a June 17 post on his Truth Social platform, the former president praised Maloy for fighting to secure the border, create jobs, and protect the Second Amendment.

“Celeste Maloy has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s backing of Maloy came after one of his main allies in Washington, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), endorsed Maloy’s opponent, Colby Jenkins, ahead of the Utah Republican party’s nominating convention.

Following Trump’s announcement backing Maloy, Lee posted on Twitter/X that voting for Maloy is voting to keep the status quo in Congress and southwestern Utah.

“Now more than ever, we need lawmakers in Congress who won’t drink the Swamp Kool-Aid,” Lee posted on Twitter/X on June 17. “Colby Jenkins doesn’t even like Kool-Aid.”

Maloy is running for her first full term in Congress. Jenkins, a businessman and veteran, is working to unseat her. The winner of Tuesday’s primary will go on to face Democratic candidate Nathaniel Woodward in November.

Burgess Owens

Congressman Burgess Owens is running unopposed for re-election in the primary for Utah’s 4th Congressional District.

Even so, Trump endorsed Owens last week on his Truth Social platform, calling him a “fantastic representative” for the district that covers central Utah and suburbs along the Wasatch Front.

Owens is will face Democratic candidate Katrina Fallick-Wang in November’s general election.

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