Provo Mayor John Curtis stood inside a packed reception hall in the city’s downtown Thursday evening and made his candidacy official, joining a crowded field of more than a dozen candidates running to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
“I’m pleased to announce that I intend to be a candidate for Congress in the 3rd District,” he told a cheering crowd at The Bell Room in Provo.

Curtis is among nine other Republicans — and counting — who’ve declared their intention to try and become the next Congressman from Utah’s conservative-leaning 3rd Congressional District. Three Democrats have also filed.
The popular two-term mayor said he made the decision to run about a week ago at the encouragement of friends and constituents.
The campaign launch brought out many young professionals, like 26-year-old Elias Flores, who credits Curtis with revitalizing downtown Provo and making it a hub for food, music and tech.
“I moved to Provo in 2009, which was known as a dead time,” said Flores. “You would walk down Center Street and there was nothing. He’s really taken the different communities in Provo and worked with them to activate the space, activate the city.”
Curtis plans to pursue a dual path to the ballot — he’ll be running in the Utah GOP’s special caucus convention in June as well as gathering signatures.
Among his many challengers on the right are three state lawmakers and Tanner Ainge, son of famed NBA player and manager Danny Ainge.
“Whenever you have an open seat, that is when everyone comes out from the woodwork and everybody that’s been wanting to run for a while is going to throw their hat in the ring,” said Jessica Preece, a political science professor at Brigham Young University.
Preece said it’s too early to make predictions, but Curtis and other candidates have a lot of work ahead of them, including fundraising and campaigning across the sprawling district, which stretches from Salt Lake to Blanding.
All that has to happen before their party nominating conventions in June and a potential August 15 primary.