Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
WEST JORDAN — A Utah judge on Friday said gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman's running mate is ineligible to run for the office of lieutenant governor in Utah and rejected a request for a temporary restraining order.
The ruling to deny the restraining order paves the way for Utah election officials to print primary ballots without the name of Layne Bangerter — who Lyman tapped as his running mate on Saturday — although the judge declined to settle the underlying constitutional questions.
"This case cuts at the very heart of our democracy," 3rd District Judge Matthew Bates said. "We cherish the right to vote, but we equally cherish the right to participate in our government and to run our own government. ... That right, however, is subject to a few qualifications that the Supreme Court has described as fundamental in our Constitution."
Lyman on Saturday won the delegate vote to advance to a primary election against Gov. Spencer Cox and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson. But questions about Bangerter's eligibility for the office of lieutenant governor quickly came into question because he has not lived in Utah for the past five years leading up to the election.
When the pair tried to file as running mates on Monday, they were turned away, and election officials have argued Bangerter does not meet the constitutional requirement of being "a resident citizen of the state for five years next preceding the election."
Greg Bell, a former lieutenant governor and independent adviser to the elections office, issued a memorandum on Monday declaring Bangerter ineligible. Henderson, the state's top election official, appointed Bell in March as she recused herself from working on cases involving her own reelection.
Lyman called the decision by the lieutenant governor's office "100% obstruction" and filed a lawsuit along with Bangerter on Monday asking the courts to compel election officials to allow Bangerter on the ballot.
Bangerter lived in Utah for nearly three decades until 1990, when he moved to Idaho where he resided until 2021. Lyman called the language in the Constitution "ambiguous" and said Bangerter's time as a Utah resident satisfies the requirement, even though it doesn't immediately precede his candidacy.
In response to the lawsuit, a court filing from state attorneys states: "The Utah Supreme Court has also interpreted this provision holding that 'next preceding' in this context means 'immediately preceding.' Nevertheless, in this motion, petitioners ask the court to ignore the Utah Constitution and place on the ballot a candidate who has not been a resident citizen of Utah for the previous five years."
Bangerter's team requested a temporary injunction from the court to allow his name to appear on the ballot while the larger legal questions played out, because Friday is the last day changes can be made to the names that will appear on ballots for the June 25 primary.
During oral arguments on an injunction before Bates on Friday afternoon, attorneys for each side offered differing interpretations of the technical meaning of the requirement that someone live in the state "for five years next preceding the election" in order to be eligible for the office of governor or lieutenant governor. State attorneys argued that the phrase means five consecutive years immediately before the election, while Bangerter's attorney argued that any five-year stretch as a Utah resident would make a candidate eligible.
Bangerter's attorney accused Henderson's office of engaging in "election interference" and said it had failed to comply with state law around election candidate filings.
On the other side, the state attorney said the election officials who told Bangerter he was ineligible would have violated their own oaths to uphold state law if they knowingly allowed an ineligible candidate to appear on the ballot. He asked the judge not only to dismiss the effort to receive injunctive relief, but asked for a ruling on the underlying constitutional issues.
In response to the question about what "next preceding" means, Bates said the state's constitution is clear that a candidate must have lived in the state for five years immediately preceding the election in order to qualify.
"With all of that before me, Mr. Bangerter, I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to conclude that you are not eligible to serve as lieutenant governor of the state of Utah," he said.
Bates issued an oral ruling Friday, and promised to issue a written opinion on Monday. He didn't set a further court date to consider other constitutional questions.
As for Lyman's candidacy, an attorney for the state said they would work with his campaign to allow him to pick a replacement candidate who meets the qualifications.Lyman told reporters after the ruling he would select a new running mate by the deadline on Monday at noon.
"We move forward," he said. "I'll pick another. I'll pick another running mate, and we'll move forward with this. I mean, we're obviously disappointed with that ruling."
Lyman said he has some candidates in mind but did not hint at who they might be.
The Utah Republican Party's constitution states that "gubernatorial candidates nominated by the state nominating convention shall nominate a candidate for lieutenant governor who meets the eligibility requirements of the statutes and constitution. If the convention fails to affirmatively ratify the nominee for lieutenant governor, the gubernatorial nominee shall nominate other candidates until the convention affirmatively ratifies a nominee."
State Rep. Brian King, the Democratic nominee for governor, issued a statement Friday saying "extremism" within the GOP continues "to embarrass Utah."
"Today, we got our most recent example: a Republican convention nominee having his running mate removed from the ballot because of a failure to follow the basic standards of the Utah Constitution," King stated, welcoming Republican voters who feel "left behind by their party" to "join us for the better."
A spokesman for Cox's reelection campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Contributing: Lindsay Aerts
