Rep. John Curtis won the Republican primary in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, according to The Associated Press.
“Figuring out how to thank you is just very difficult. And you can’t say thank you without first of all saying thank you to my family,” Curtis said to his family and supporters on Tuesday night. “I have six kids and 17 grandkids. And if you want to know why in the end I did this, it’s the 17 grandkids.”
With 77 percent of the votes counted, the 3rd District congressman received 51.7% of votes, while Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs received 28.6%, former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson received 13.6% and Moxie Pest Control CEO Jason Walton received 6.1%.
The initial vote totals, appearing on a large TV screen, were met by scattered cheers by more than 100 Curtis supporters gathered under a pavilion at the candidate’s election night watch party at Riverview Park in north Provo.
On the small stage, Curtis shared his reason for running and why he says his message resonated with Utahns.
“The vision is this, that we can do things better in Washington. We can agree. We can find solutions. We can be civil,” Curtis said. “Those of you who worry about this country, just know that’s going to be the message tomorrow, from the corner of this state to the corner of this state, that we must unify as a country and if we unify we can beat any foe, solve any problem.”
Curtis topped 50% in the crowded four-way race in most of the 18 of 29 counties that had reported as of 9 p.m. on Tuesday. Curtis had a strong showing in Utah’s more heavily populated counties, coming away with more than 56% in Salt Lake County, nearly 53% in Davis County and nearly 57% in Utah County, which he represented in the U.S. House for the last 7½ years and where he served as mayor of Provo for the eight years before that.
