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SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert believes a new law changing the nomination process for political candidates is constitutional, but he supports the Utah Republican Party's right to sue to stop it, according to a statement released Monday.
On Saturday, the GOP governor's political director, Derek Miller, told members of the party's Central Committee that Herbert "believes that there is a legitimate, legal and constitutional question" raised by the lawsuit.
Miller, who stepped down earlier this year as the governor's chief of staff to head the World Trade Center Utah, also said it was "appropriate" for the lawsuit to move forward to resolve that question "once and for all."
The statement issued by the governor's spokesman, Marty Carpenter, late Monday afternoon, took a different tone.
"The governor believes SB54 to be constitutional and signed the bill because it is a good compromise that preserves the caucus and convention system while providing more opportunities for participation by the general electorate," the statement said.
Carpenter's statement concluded that "at the same time, the governor supports the process providing the right to challenge the law in court, and he respects the party's decision to do so."
He repeated a statement made by Miller at the party meeting about Herbert being "a strong supporter of the caucus (and) convention system and has said many times he would not be governor without it."
The governor supports the process providing the right to challenge the law in court, and he respects the party's decision to do so.
–Marty Carpenter, Governor's spokesman
Miller's comments were quickly circulated by state Republican Party Chairman James Evans as support for the party's legal challenge to SB54, the result of a compromise between lawmakers and supporters of the Count My Vote initiative.
Evans said it's a "false assertion" to say the lawsuit pits the Republican Party against the members of its own party who backed the legislation, including lawmakers and the governor.
"We can actually have a difference of opinion. I have to have more faith in Utahns that they can look at this issue and then decide," Evans said. "That's why I believe the governor supports the legal challenge, is to get this question answered."
Evans also said the party doesn't have enough time before the 2016 election to make the internal changes needed to comply with requirements of new law, which include opening up primary elections to unaffiliated voters.
The legislation allows political parties to keep the caucus and convention system for selecting delegates but creates an alternative route to the ballot, through collecting signatures.
The compromise, supported by the GOP-dominated Legislature and signed by Herbert, ended the initiative referendum effort to replace the caucus and convention system that allows candidates with enough support to bypass a primary election.
The Republican Party filed suit in federal court on Dec. 1, asking that SB54 be struck down because it violates the party's constitutional right to define its membership and platform, and select its nominees.
The executive chairman of Count My Vote, Rich McKeown, said he expects Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the state's chief election officer, and Attorney General Sean Reyes, both Republicans, "to vigorously defend the law as they have assured us they will."
McKeown said while the party is legally entitled to sue, "it has become evident that such action will continue to erode the confidence of important Republican constituencies."
Political consultant LaVarr Webb recently emailed a GOP leader soliciting funds that it would "be stupid for me and the thousands of other Republicans who support Count My Vote to contribute to the Republican Party at any level."
Webb, a founder of Count My Vote who writes a column for the Deseret News, said the lawsuit "directly contravenes the will of most mainstream Republicans and the vast majority of Utahns."
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon, who ran against Herbert in 2010, said the governor is "the master of supporting both sides of the issue" and is "pandering to Republican delegates."
Herbert announced earlier this year he is seeking re-election in 2016.
