Davis County Republican Party officials have decided, after a convention vote recount, that Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, did indeed get 60 percent of the vote at last week's Davis County GOP convention and won't face Republican challenger Don Guymon in a June 27 primary.
Candace Daly, county party chairwoman, said Tuesday morning that she was preparing a written statement on the five-hour meeting county party leaders held Monday night. But that statement had not been released by newspaper deadlines Tuesday.House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said that during the meeting the ballots were recounted for House District 19. One of the ballots was cast for Ernie Cox, another GOP candidate who had dropped out of the race before the convention.
After much discussion, county leaders decided that the ballot for Cox should not be counted. And with that vote out, Allen just got to the 60 percent nomination level.
Guymon said Tuesday morning he hadn't yet decided what he would or could do.
"I'm a member of the state (party) central committee and I don't want to sue my own party, make trouble there," Guymon said. But he disagrees with the county party's procedure. "My reading of the rules is that you count all the ballots." And if that had been done, Allen would have dropped just below 60 percent, he added, and Guymon would be in a primary.
"I suppose I could ask for some kind of investigation. Or at least an apology for what they did," he said.
Utah law used to be detailed in how political party nominations were handled. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled several years ago that states are limited in how they control intra-party functions. So it is really up to individual county and state parties in how they conduct their conventions and primaries.
"I read the (election) rules one way. The (county party leaders) read them another way," Guymon said.
Allen, who heads the Davis County School District Foundation, is a founding member of the so-called "mainstream" Republican caucus in the Utah House and is considered a moderate Republican.
You can reach Bob Bernick Jr. by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com