Over 3,500 delegates descended on Utah Valley University in Orem Saturday for the state GOP convention. Removed from the turmoil surrounding state Democrats in the lead-up to their convention, Republicans were in high spirits, cheering along to a beat‑boxing performance before settling in to watch the day’s gauntlet of speeches.
At the state convention, delegates choose their party’s representatives for the June primary. Here’s where things shook out.
Utah’s 1st Congressional District
Any Republican first district candidate faces a steep uphill fight in the general election, competing in a newly redrawn district that packs most of Salt Lake County into a now reliably blue seat. Going by convention speeches, Republicans from all districts are still unhappy about the change.
Stone Fonau, Riley Owen and Mike Robinson all wanted to take on that challenge.
Delegates placed their weight behind Owen, who won 71.2% of the vote. He was also the only one who collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot, regardless of what happened at the convention.
Utah’s 2nd Congressional District
The big ticket names facing off in the second district were state House Rep. Karianne Lisonbee and incumbent U.S. Rep. Blake Moore. Lisonbee won with 61.5% of the delegates’ vote to Moore’s 33.7%.
When she took the stage for her speech, a resounding cheer echoed through the building.
Lisonbee has a reputation as one of the state's more conservative voices, and her congressional bid depended entirely on convention delegates. In her speech, she focused on the pitfalls of her opponent, Moore, highlighting his involvement in redistricting.
“My opponent worked with Democrats to turn a reliably red Utah congressional seat deep blue,” she said, referring to Moore’s role co‑chairing the committee behind the state’s 2018 anti‑gerrymandering initiative, Proposition 4.
The measure sparked a years‑long redistricting fight that ended with a map that left the 1st Congressional District essentially unwinnable for his party. When he took the stage for his speech, he was met with a mix of boos and cheers.
Moore spoke about his time in Congress, where he has served since 2021, and urged delegates to choose a candidate they know.
“I have always been a convention‑supported candidate, but today I’m asking you to make me the outright winner,” Moore said. “So I can spend the next six months making sure every American knows the difference between common sense and crazy.”
They did not take his advice.
But Moore has already secured a spot on the primary ballot after gathering enough signatures, ensuring a primary face-off with Lisonbee.
Utah’s 3rd Congressional District
The third district was tightly contested. It was the only one to go to a second round of voting after it was too close to call between incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy and Phil Lyman. In the end, Maloy won with 50.9% of the vote. But that wasn’t enough to keep Lyman off the ballot, who received 49.04%. Candidates will appear on the ballot if they receive more than 40%.
Each had an opportunity to give a second speech to their delegates. Maloy reminded them she was on important federal committees, like Natural Resources and Appropriations. She said she’s campaigning for Utah.
“I'm working with President Donald J. Trump to make sure we're getting the money he promised to make the Great Salt Lake great again,” she said, “In order to do that, you need an appropriator. Utah has one. It's me. Send me back and let me finish it.”
Lyman’s speech was short and simple. After a brief address to delegates about Maoly’s voting record he emphasized bringing local control back to Utah.
“It's time to send a message to the establishment that they do not control all of the politics in Utah,” he said.
Maloy had a hard-fought win in 2023 to get into Congress and already has the signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Lyman, on the other hand, has been a convention darling for years. When he went up against Gov. Spencer Cox in 2024, he won the convention vote but lost the primary. After, he fought a lengthy legal battle, claiming that he was the rightful candidate and should have gone on to the general election.
Utah’s 4th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Mike Kennedy faced a handful of challengers, but was the only Republican candidate with any political experience. He won the delegate’s vote in a landslide with 78.7%.
Delegates filed out of the UVU facility laughing and chatting with each other as they made their way to their cars. On to the Primaries, to be held June 23 of this year.
