Utah held its general election on November 5, 2024, deciding 89 legislative seats and 5 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
Utah delivered what the Utah News Dispatch called a status quo year for Republican dominance: Gov. Spencer Cox won a second term, Republicans kept every statewide office, and the Legislature ended exactly where it began, 61-14 in the House and 23-6 in the Senate.
The governor's race was the night's oddity. Spencer Cox (R) and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (R) beat House Minority Leader Brian King (D) by more than 20 points, but Phil Lyman, the legislator who lost the June Republican primary and refused to concede, ran on as an unaffiliated write-in and finished with about 14 percent, one of the most successful write-in campaigns in state history. His lawsuits to disqualify Cox failed at every level, ending when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal in January.
Down the ballot, Republicans kept both open offices and re-elected their one incumbent: Derek Brown (R) won attorney general over Rudy Bautista (D) by about 30 points, Tina Cannon (R) won auditor, and Treasurer Marlo Oaks (R) was re-elected.
Four constitutional amendments were printed on the ballot but only two counted. Amendment B, raising the annual draw from the State School Fund, and Amendment C, requiring every county to elect a sheriff, both passed easily; Amendments A and D, one on the state's constitutional income-tax earmark and one on legislative power over citizen initiatives, never counted: courts had voided both before the election for failing the constitution's newspaper-publication requirement, so votes on them were never tallied.
Legislature
House (75 seats): 14 D, 61 R before the election, 14 D, 61 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Senate (29 seats): 6 D, 23 R before the election, 6 D, 22 R, 1 other or vacant after; control stayed with Republicans.
Raise the annual distribution limit from the State School Fund for public education from 4% to 5%. This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Utah 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 71.0% voting yes.
Establish in the state constitution that every county shall elect a sheriff to serve for four-year terms. This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Utah 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 83.0% voting yes.