- Utah Republican delegates will meet on Saturday to vote on who will lead the party.
- GOP delegates will also vote to revoke membership of those who gather signatures.
- Phil Lyman is running an "anti-establishment" campaign against chair Rob Axson.
Utah Republican Party delegates will decide Saturday if the state GOP will launch a war against elected officials, election outcomes and the primary process.
The local party volunteers will vote on an amendment that would change party rules to expel candidates who use signatures to get on the ballot.
They will also vote on how the next party chair should advance the decade-old project to remove the signature option completely.
For many of the 4,000 state delegates, the race for party chair between incumbent Rob Axson and former lawmaker Phil Lyman signifies much more than the typical partisan spat.
It represents a fundamental disagreement about whether the state‘s trajectory demands radical disruption of the status quo or continued collaboration with leaders across the Republican Party spectrum.
Both candidates have expressed support for President Donald Trump while touting their MAGA bonafides but offer different visions for the best strategy to keep Utah red.
Mediating party member disagreements, partnering with the Legislature and launching record-breaking fundraising and get-out-the-vote operations have been the hallmarks of Axson’s two years in office that he promises to repeat if reelected.
Alleging unsubstantiated corruption, rooting out the influence of so-called RINOs and rejecting compromise defined Lyman’s recent gubernatorial campaign which he has morphed into a bid for chair as he prepares to run for governor again in 2028.
Hanging over Saturday’s vote is Trump’s endorsement of Axson which has been framed by some as a vindication of Axson’s leadership and by others as further proof of establishment subterfuge.
Regardless of who they support, the delegates who spoke with the Deseret News agree that the outcome of the party chair election will shape the future of the Utah Republican Party for the next two years and the character of Utah conservatism beyond that.
Still SB54
Since 2014, Republican Party infighting in the state of Utah has often centered around one thing: how to litigate and relitigate the passage of SB54.
The infamous law was — according to the policymakers involved — an effort to prevent the elimination of Utah’s unique caucus convention system.
It combined the convention candidate nomination process with a signature-gathering path to qualify for primary elections in order to stave off a ballot initiative that threatened to take primaries out of party hands completely.
Multiple GOP chairs have since sought to repeal the law through legislative action and legal challenges, arguing that it violates the party’s right of association and enables big-money candidates.
Axson and Lyman both say they are committed to returning candidate selection to party insiders. But delegates view the two prospective chairs as diverging on what they are willing to do to make this happen.
“The selection process is at the heart of this chairman’s race,” said Don Guymon, the chair of the Davis County Republican Party. “Who’s best (positioned) to see if we can repeal SB54 is probably one of the central questions of the election.”
From Guymon’s point of view, SB54 has led to representatives being increasingly disconnected from conservative Utahns. He believes Axson has tried to “work with the system” to make change but that Lyman would be more open to “thinking outside the box.”
While Axson has said that it is legislators’ job to reverse the policy which courts have upheld on several occasions, Lyman has said he will do whatever it takes to block the path of candidates who gather signatures.
On Tuesday, Lyman said he would fight back against policies the GOP disagrees with, including the dual-pathway primary system, through “nullification,” a theory that argues that an authority can ignore laws it deems to be unconstitutional.
“The GOP is the 800-pound gorilla in the room but we refuse to flex our muscle,” Lyman said. “I’m done with the notion that we are weak.”
Following the chair election, delegates are scheduled to vote on a proposed amendment to the GOP party constitution that would revoke the party membership for one year of any candidate who pursues signature qualification.
Taylor Morgan, executive director of Count My Vote, the group partially responsible for the state‘s signature primary path, told the Deseret News the party has tried SB54 workarounds like this before to no avail.
“It’s a shameful and desperate attempt to prop up the party’s failing caucuses and conventions,” Morgan said. “Count My Vote remains committed to our mission and is prepared to take action to ensure that all Utah voters will continue to have a voice in our elections.”
If the party moves forward with these limitations on signature gathering it could spell the end of its official party status in general elections or the end of the convention nominating process, according to Stan Lockhart, former GOP chair from 2007-2009.
SB54 outlines that for a party to officially nominate someone to the general election it must allow candidates to qualify for a primary through both party conventions and gathering signatures.
Lockhart recognizes that Lyman’s “more militant” style resonates with some delegates. But he said it is much easier to claim something is unconstitutional during a campaign than it is to actually go against court rulings.
“You can win the battle and lose the war,” Lockhart said. “If you go down the Phil Lyman route, I believe that will trigger a new initiative, then the Republican Party has to bet on the fact that the voters are going to want less of a say in elections, not more of a say, in order to keep the caucus convention system.”
Who’s the establishment?
Lyman and his wing of the party view SB54 as a symptom of a much broader problem that they believe has brought the state to the precipice of permanently losing what makes it great.
At the center of this diagnosis is what Lyman has called “the establishment,” or the cast of elected officials he claims have allowed “liberal” policies on immigration, spending, elections and DEI to infiltrate the state.
Lyman did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Sophie Anderson, a state delegate from Davis County and one of Lyman’s most dedicated supporters, said everything about the race for chair comes down to the establishment vs. anti-establishment dichotomy.
“That’s what this race is about,” Anderson said. “Do we want the status quo establishment candidate? Or do we want the anti-establishment breaking through the barriers that will eventually revive our party in Phil Lyman?”
Axson did not do enough to verify the validity of Lyman’s election losses or to call out state leaders when they green-lit state-subsidized sports venues and when they rejected immigration law enforcement measures, Anderson said.
Even Axson’s endorsement from Trump — which precipitated endorsements from convention favorites Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Burgess Owens and state lawmakers — is simply evidence that “the establishment is terrified of a Phil Lyman GOP chairmanship,” according to Anderson.
But Axson, having spent his career working for Lee and advocating for conservative policies as an activist, said it was “laughable to be called ‘establishment.’”
The contentious nature of the chair election is representative of “undercurrents that have been there for a long time” in the party, according to Axson, but he said the healthy debate ends as soon as delegates resort to “name calling.”
Axson said his endorsement from Trump, which came amid several state chair and congressional endorsements, showed that the president recognized his track record of blowing past party fundraising records and sending money and volunteers to help Trump and other candidates win elections in Arizona and Nevada.
“I think it goes to show the power of being collaborative as a team to try to get past the finish line,” Axson said. “My focus is for the Utah Republican Party to win by elevating and growing its strength and relevance to benefit our state for years to come. This is not a placeholder as I run for other office.”
Don Willie, founder of the political consulting firm Epicenter Strategies, said Utah’s senior senator “obviously ... played a critical role” in Axson’s endorsement from Trump.
Willie, who has worked closely with GOP national committeeman Brad Bonham for years, said the endorsement will have a “big impact” on delegates because it bursts the assumption that Lyman is the default “MAGA candidate” and highlights Axson’s relationship with national players.
Michelle Tanner, a state delegate and St. George city councilwoman, said the endorsement speaks to Axson’s broad support from the grassroots on up to the White House.
But more than that, Tanner said, it shows he can build lasting coalitions with an actual resume of party victories that benefit the party as a whole, not just one faction.
“We can’t truly have the best things rise to the top if we can’t feel comfortable having that open dialogue and knowing that we have a leader of our party who is not out there burning bridges but is out there learning how to build more bridges,” Tanner said. “We want our movement to be growing, not dwindling down to a select few narrow viewpoints.”
What are the delegates saying?
Alexis Ence, a member of the GOP’s governing body, the State Central Committee, said both Axson and Lyman are both authentic conservatives. The distinction comes down to the role of a leader.
Despite his personal views, a football coach’s job is to resolve problems behind the scenes and not to “trash players publicly” because that “damages the whole team,” Ence said.
Carolina Herrin, a state delegate with multiple other positions within the party, said Axson has followed through with his promise of “putting Utah on the map.”
Herrin supports Axson for reelection because she thinks the party should maintain this momentum which she fears would be lost under a chair with Lyman’s approach to party politics.
“We need someone who is able to work at all levels with every type of individual and not pick and choose who they feel is more conservative than others,” Herrin said.
Mackey Smith, a central committee member and the former chair for Utah Young Republicans, said he has heard from many delegates who supported Lyman for governor but do not want him elected as chair.
While Lyman’s rhetoric is in line with what many delegates are hungry for, Smith said, there is a recognition that to bring about desired changes the chair needs a working relationship with the Legislature like Axson has.
Yemi Arunsi, a state delegate and former Davis County chair, said Axson has gone the extra mile in providing support for local parties and candidates.
Arunsi called Axson’s endorsement from Trump a “game changer” for the party that reveals how Utah’s influence has grown within the national GOP under Axson.
This growth, according to Arunsi, is attributed to an approach that welcomes a diverse group of Republicans.
“Whomever it is in the leadership position, if that individual is not ready to to bring the party together, then I think we will start seeing an exit of Republicans that support the party,” Arunsi said.
On Saturday, party delegates will hear remarks from Axson and Lyman, as well as candidates for GOP secretary, before a leadership vote.
Delegates will meet at the Utah Valley University’s UCCU Center where there will also be a U.S. Senate panel with Lee and Sen. John Curtis, and a U.S. House panel with Owens and Reps. Blake Moore, Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy.
Additionally, there will be a statewide officials panel with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Attorney General Derek Brown, Auditor Tina Cannon, Treasurer Marlo Oaks, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz.