John Curtis, representative for Utah’s 3rd congressional district, announced that he will be running to replace Mitt Romney in Utah’s Senate seat in the 2024 election.
In a video released on YouTube, Curtis made the surprise announcement on Jan. 3. Curtis had initially stated he wouldn’t run for the Senate; however, he has since changed his position after being met with pressure from constituents and friends asking him to reconsider.
“The voices just kept growing in numbers and in volume,” Curtis said in an interview given to The Deseret News. “And to be honest one of those voices was my wife and children … I eventually started to ask myself the question, ‘Did I rush into that decision [to not run]?’”
Curtis joins a crowded field of Republicans that are seeking to replace Senator Mitt Romney, who announced back in September that he wouldn’t seek a second term. Among these are former Utah Speaker Brad Wilson, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, and former Senator Lee staffer Carolyn Phippen, along with others.
“As your Senator, I will work hard every day to make Utah an even better place,” Curtis said within has campaign announcement. “I look forward to earning your vote.”
In his campaign video, Curtis tackled issues that have become staples in the 2024 race for Utah’s Senate seat. Curtis touched on fiscal restraint in the federal budget, energy independence, attacking President Biden’s border policies, and controlling federal land expansion in Utah.
Curtis has been a Representative in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District for the past eight years, and before that he was the 44th mayor of Provo, Utah. In a report released last year, Curtis was ranked as one of the most effective Republican lawmakers in Congress based on the amount of bills, he has sponsored receiving action.
“I started thinking about things like, ‘If I really cared about serving my district, could I actually be a better voice for them in the Senate than I am in the House?’ And the answer to that is clearly yes,” Curtis stated in his interview with Deseret News. Curtis later explained that his back and forth on whether to run was since he “was not aspiring for this” and is running due to those wanting him to run.
Though caucus day for Republicans won’t begin until March 5th, candidates for Senate are chosen at the State nominating Republican Convention. If they win at convention, primaries are triggered if candidates gather enough signatures to force it.
To find out more information on the caucus system, visit the Utah GOP website, to find out more about John Curtis and his campaign, visit his campaign website.
