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SALT LAKE CITY — In a recent email exchange between some Republican members of the Utah House of Representatives, it appears some feelings within the party are quite raw ahead of the gubernatorial election next month.
Gov. Spencer Cox is running for a second term, challenged by Democrat Brian King, a member of the Utah House.
But a wrinkle has emerged as Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding – who defeated Cox at the Republican convention but lost to him in the primary – is running a write-in campaign and even appeared in a joint campaign ad with King.
Lyman has made numerous claims of election fraud in the wake of his loss, although all his court challenges have so far failed.
In a sign of broader rifts within the party, two conservative Republican members of the House recently criticized Lyman via email, telling him he's doing Utah a "disservice" and saying his campaign's "unjustified attacks divide us."
KSL-TV obtained the emails from the House of Representatives through a public records request.
Email to legislators
On Aug. 21, Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, sent an email to all legislators sharing a memo he received from the Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel. That memo, which Weiler had requested, looked at Lyman's unsuccessful effort to obtain information about voters who had signed a petition to get Cox on the primary ballot.
Weiler told his legislative colleagues he was sharing the memo because it "addresses many relevant issues." The memo said the decision by Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson's office to deny Lyman's request for voter information "was legally reasonable." It also said Lyman and the lieutenant governor's office "offered legally reasonable but competing interpretations of GRAMA and the Election Code" in court.
Nine days later, on Aug. 30, Lyman penned a lengthy response to House and Senate lawmakers, defending his campaign's challenge of the results and reiterating his claims of election fraud.
"As a legislature, we can continue to be complicit, or we can fix this," Lyman wrote. "Either way, my campaign will do everything we can to expose the collusion and the motivations behind it. To do anything less would be a huge disservice to the people of Utah."
Lyman's email sparked a fiery response from fellow Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, who said she had been the target of "ridiculous and unfounded attacks" by Lyman's campaign staff.
"From what it sounds like, 99% of the legislature has had to deal with unfounded, blatant lies being distributed about us by your campaign staff," Birkeland wrote, copying all other House Republicans on the email. "So, while you're focusing on things that do Utah a disservice, please have a word with your staff."
Lyman replied to ask for specifics and said he didn't have any campaign staff. Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, the House majority whip, chimed in and said that contradicted what Lyman told her in the past.
"It seems unfair to ask Kera to be specific when you are being obtuse," Lisonbee wrote. "Perhaps you could instead offer an apology for the many times over the past months your campaign has released something and your team has attacked your colleagues. These unjustified attacks divide us and have the potential to hurt our future efforts to change policy for the better."
Lyman has raised the ire of some of his fellow lawmakers over the last few months by accusing Utah Republican leaders of "aggressively" raising taxes. He has also blasted the passing of "blue state" budgets, even though Lyman has voted for nearly every budget since becoming a legislator in 2019.
The email exchange ended soon after that. Asked for comment last week on Birkeland's and Lisonbee's sentiments, Lyman told KSL-TV he was "confused with both of their emails but not offended or surprised that they were not on my side."
Divided Republican Party
After Lyman's primary loss, he decided to mount a write-in campaign to challenge Cox. He also appeared in an advertisement with Democratic candidate Brian King attacking the incumbent governor. At the time, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said he was "disappointed."
"Let's stop tearing each other down and unite as Republicans," Schultz wrote on X. "This division is harmful to the future of our state."
But several political experts told KSL-TV they think this party division is here to stay.
"I think it's a long-term phenomenon," said Leah Murray, director of the Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service at Weber State University, in an email, "and I think that the election causes the fractures and highlights the differences."
"The division in Republican circles regarding ballot access via convention or signature and primary votes has existed for some time," added Mary Weaver Bennett, director of the Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service at Southern Utah University, "and I don't see that it will change in the near future."
Tim Chambless, a professor of political science at the University of Utah, said the Republican Party has "changed significantly from past decades" locally and nationally, and he pointed to the "unprecedented" Lyman write-in challenge as evidence of that.
"Any vote for Lyman is a denial of a vote for Cox. King benefits," Chambless said. "This year, a highly divided Republican Party gives King the Democrat a path to victory."
For King's part, his campaign recently released a poll showing Cox with 35% of the vote, King with 24%, and Lyman with 19%, while Libertarian candidate Robert Latham got 3%.
In the poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, 18% of voters were undecided.
"The momentum is unmistakably with Brian King, and it's easy to see why. Utahns want a leader who can build common-sense, bipartisan coalitions – not someone who panders to both sides while driving us further apart," said Gabi Finlayson, King's campaign manager.
In response, Cox's campaign spokesperson, Matt Lusty, criticized King's voting record on taxes and abortion.
"Utahns don't want a liberal, California-style Democrat as their governor," Lusty said, "but by casting a protest vote in the general election for a third-party candidate, that's what they may end up getting."
Utah Legislators email exchange by lcurtis on Scribd
Office of Legislative Research and General Council letter to Sen. Weiler by lcurtis on Scribd
