Incumbent Republicans involved in primary elections have large leads in two Utah congressional districts, a new poll shows.
In the 1st Congressional District, freshman Rep. Blake Moore would capture 52% of the vote if the election were held today, according to a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey. Challengers Andrew Badger and Tina Cannon received 6% and 5%, respectively.
But with mail-in voting already underway, 37% of voters in the district were undecided. The primary election is June 28.
Dan Jones & Associates conducted the poll of 221 registered Utah voters in the 1st District from May 24 to June 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 6.6 percentage points. The district covers northern and eastern Utah, including Summit County.
Badger came out on top at the Utah Republican Party state convention in April with 59.3% of the delegate vote compared to 40.7% for Moore. State delegates tend to be more conservative than GOP voters at large. Moore and Cannon qualified for the primary through signature gathering.
Moore, Badger and Cannon met in a heated debate earlier this month where the two challengers tried to distinguish themselves as more conservative than the incumbent.
While Moore sought to defend his record from accusations that he hasn’t done enough to fight against President Joe Biden in favor of conservative principles, Badger angled to position himself as the most passionate Republican, and Cannon argued her budgetary experience best qualifies her to represent the district in Washington.
In the poll, 45% of respondents who identified themselves as “very conservative” say they would vote for Moore. The number shoots up to 57% among “somewhat conservative” voters. The poll found 12% of very conservative voters favored Badger, while Cannon didn’t reach double digits with either category of voters. Just over half of moderates support Moore, while a little less than half was undecided.
Slightly more than half of Republicans in the survey favor Moore, while just over a third were undecided. Moore also won support from 48% of those who don’t belong to a political party, and nearly that many were undecided, the poll shows. Unaffiliated voters can register for the GOP primary on Election Day.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Rep. John Curtis, who has held the seat since 2017, leads challenger Chris Herrod 44% to 14%, though 42% were undecided, the polls shows. This is the third time Curtis and Herrod have faced each in a GOP congressional primary. Curtis won both times.
Dan Jones & Associates surveyed 340 registered Utah voters in the 3rd Congressional District from May 24 to June 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points. The district takes in about half of Utah County and southeastern Utah.
Curtis and Herrod sparred over education, government spending, big tech, overturning Roe v. Wade and gun control in a debate last month put on by the Utah Republican Party. Herrod appeared alone at a Utah Debate Commission debate earlier this month. Curtis’ campaign said he was out of the country on congressional business.
At both events, Herrod distanced himself from Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and GOP Gov. Spencer Cox, while saying he is the candidate aligned with former President Donald Trump.
Among very conservative, conservative and moderate voters, no less than 45% would vote for Curtis, according to the poll. Herrod did best among very conservative voters at 22%.
The survey found 47% of Republicans favor Curtis, while 16% support Herrod. More than half of voters who don’t affiliate with a political party were undecided, according to the poll.