John Curtis claims victory in 3rd Congressional District race
John Curtis speaks during his victory party for at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Kristie McLeod tears up as her brother speaks during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Macie McLeod picks up confetti during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Attendees cheer during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Volunteers put out buttons and stickers during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
John Curtis speaks to Provo mayoral candidate Sherrie Hall Everett during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Posters for the former mayor are pinned to the walls during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Attendees react to preliminary results during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Nate Carr shows off his stickers and buttons during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Attendees relax as the preliminary numbers roll in during the victory party for John Curtis at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. Curtis claimed victory after the preliminary results showed him ahead in the election for the Third Congressional District election in Utah. Sammy Jo Hester, Daily Herald
Provo Mayor John Curtis has breezed to victory in the special election to replace former Congressman Jason Chaffetz.
Though results won’t be official for a few days, numbers released Tuesday night after polls closed showed Curtis with more than double the votes of his Democratic opponent Kathie Allen. Curtis received approximately 58 percent of the vote to Allen’s 27 percent of the vote.
United Utah Candidate Jim Bennett, who is the son of former U.S. Sen. Bennett, came in a distant third with 9 percent of the vote.
Curtis was the heavy favorite in the race since winning a hotly-contested primary race in August against fellow Republicans Chris Herrod and Tanner Ainge. The district is among the most conservative districts in the country.
Curtis claimed the victory at about 9 p.m. in front of a roomful of dozens of supporters in Provo after both Bennett and Allen had called him to concede.
“Sue, do you want to go to Washington?” Curtis said, addressing his wife, before saying, “We did it, we did it.”
He then spoke for about 10 minutes, promising to stay in touch with Utah’s values and promising to “not become a politician.”
He pledged to stay accessible to supporters, saying he will hold town hall meetings — an issue for which many of Utah’s other Congressional delegation members have taken heat.
“If you’re patient, you can get an appointment to see me,” Curtis said.
He also said he planned to serve the underrepresented in Utah, saying he wants to fight for those in the district who don’t feel represented.
“That means if you’re not white, Mormon and male, I am still here for you,” he said.
He said he is committed to caring about every one of the people in his district, which has a population of more than 700,000 people.
“Those who know me best know that it doesn’t matter if you’re nine or 90, rich or poor, gay or straight, Mormon or atheist, Navajo or Caucasian,” Curtis said. “I work for you and you’re my boss.”
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan congratulated Curtis on Twitter shortly after 9 p.m., saying he will be a “valuable addition” to the House Republican conference.
“With Congressman-elect Curtis as a member of our team, we will keep up our push to enact more bold reforms that reduce the size of government, grow the economy, and help middle-class Americans get ahead,” Ryan said in the statement.
Despite the loss, Allen expressed a sense of accomplishment for having broken nearly dead even with Curtis in Salt Lake County results, and taking a lead in Grand County.
“We came close in a lot of counties, except for Utah County,” Allen said. “We always knew that would be difficult.”
Allen said it is too soon to tell if she will run again. Since Curtis will be taking over in the middle of a term, he will face re-election already in 2018.
For now, Allen said she will go back to working on gerrymandering, something she considers a huge problem in Utah.
“Salt Lake County still doesn’t have representation,” Allen said. “The largest population center in the state.”
In a news release, the United Utah Party celebrated receiving 9 percent of the vote considering it was such a new political movement and party.
“I got involved before there was to be a special election,” Bennett said in the release. “And I intend to be involved in the party long after this election is over. I believe the United Utah Party has a bright future.”
The results released Tuesday comprise nearly 28 percent of the total number of ballots sent out in Utah County, which has the largest portion of the population of the counties that make up the district.
Utah County Clerk/Auditor Bryan Thompson said he’s expecting about a 35 percent voter turnout, meaning another 15,000 Utah County ballots can likely be expected.Thompson expects there will be “quite a few more” ballots coming in for the next release of ballots.
Because the election is being conducted primarily via vote by mail, final results will not be available Tuesday night in the seven counties that make up the 3rd Congressional District.The next batch of election results will be released on Thursday, after which Utah County Thompson estimates Utah County will have more than 90 percent of received ballots counted.
Additional vote releases will be made available Nov. 14, 17 and 21 in both this and municipal races.
Final results in the race will be certified by the State Board of Canvassers on Nov. 27.
The special election was made necessary when former Representative Jason Chaffetz resigned his position in June, citing wanting to spend more time with his family. He now works as a contributor for Fox News.
Now that Curtis has essentially secured the position, he is faced with figuring out what to do with his mayoral position, which he is technically scheduled to vacate at the end of the year.
Curtis has previously told the Daily Herald that, assuming he won the race, he intended to finish out serving his mayoral term after being in sworn into the congressional seat. Since that time, Curtis was informed he cannot hold both seats at the same time.
“I’ve spoken at length with the House Parliamentarian,” said Corey Norman, city spokesman, at a Provo City Council work session last week. “He’s indicated to me that being elected as a Member of Congress along with being a municipal mayor is incompatible and that if Mayor Curtis wins, he will be expected to resign his position with the city.”
Curtis now plans to resign his mayoral position the same day he will be sworn into Congress on Nov. 13, Norman said via text message Tuesday.
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