The Salt Lake County Republican Party says the Utah GOP’s new one-year party registration rule doesn’t apply to its county convention—because of one word in the state constitution.
Last year, the Utah GOP added a bylaw requiring “a person seeking to run as a Republican candidate for partisan elected office” to show a full year of continuous GOP registration. Delegates then voted to add the rule to the party constitution at the state convention.
9 days - Deadline for Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress to submit signatures to qualify for the primary ballot (4/10/2026)
10 days - Utah Forward Party nominating convention (4/11/2026)
24 days - Utah State Republican and Democratic State Party nominating conventions (4/25/2026)
83 days - Utah's 2026 primary election (6/23/2026)
216 days - 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026)
951 days - 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028)
Last month, county leaders told Trina Christensen, a State School Board candidate, she couldn’t seek the GOP nomination at the county convention because she registered as a Republican only when she filed for office. She isn’t collecting signatures, so convention is her only path to the ballot. Blocking her would effectively hand the nomination to Nicole McDermott, who already secured a primary spot by gathering signatures.
The same one-year rule was also used to sideline other would-be candidates.
Earlier this week, county party chair Mike Carey reversed course and let those candidates into the convention. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Utah Political Watch. According to sources familiar with the decision, Carey pointed to a wording conflict: the bylaw applies to anyone “seeking to run as a Republican candidate,” but the constitution says the rule applies to a person “seeking to run as a state Republican candidate.” In Carey’s reading, that single word—“state”—limits the one-year requirement to candidates at the state convention, not county conventions.
Carey also cited a state constitutional provision that lets county parties adopt their own rules, so long as they don’t conflict with state party rules. Salt Lake County GOP bylaws define party membership broadly: any county resident of voting age who identifies as a Republican and supports the platform and candidates.
The rule change was meant to deter last-minute party switchers from filing to run for office as Republicans. It followed a late-2024 special election to replace former state Rep. Kera Birkeland. Kris Campbell, who ran as a Democrat against Birkeland that year, switched affiliation to enter the GOP race. Republican delegates eliminated Campbell on the first ballot.
If you have a news tip that we should investigate, email us at tips@utahpolitics.news or send your tip through our secure online form.
