Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald file photo

When Rep. Adam Robertson, R-Provo, announced on Dec. 21 he was stepping away from the Utah House of Representatives, he endorsed a successor.

While the decision would ultimately come down to a vote by GOP delegates in District 60, Robertson backed Kimberley Nelson, who he called an engaged citizen and active member of the community, for the seat.

Still, five additional candidates — McKay Jensen, Sylvia Andrew, Tyler Clancy, Jared Oldroyd and Joe Brockbank — decided to run for the seat as well.

On Friday, Nelson dropped out of the race. According to Robertson, several of Nelson’s loved ones passed away in the weeks between the announcement and special election, leading to her decision to halt the campaign.

Robertson said he has known everyone running since before the campaign due to their work with local Republican Party affairs and considers them people who have all been consistently involved, adding that selecting someone to endorse is like choosing from “good, better, best.”

Courtesy photos

On Wednesday, Robertson told the Daily Herald he would back Clancy, a 25-year-old member of the Provo Police Department, for the seat.

“Of the candidates that are there — all of them are good — Tyler Clancy is my best pick,” he said.

Robertson praised Clancy’s civic engagement, listening ability and called him “wise for his age,” adding that he will “represent our community best.”

In addition to his time with the Provo PD, which he joined in May 2022, Clancy is a Brigham Young University graduate and worked as executive director of the Pioneer Park Coalition.

“I think, with my service as a police officer, my service in the nonprofit community working with state legislators — working in that political arena — and then just being someone who’s still in that in-between, I have an ability to bridge the gap,” Clancy told the Daily Herald on Jan. 8 during a candidate meet and greet.

In addition to Robertson’s endorsement of Clancy, several other candidates boast support of prominent Utah politicos. On her campaign website, Andrew includes endorsements from Phil Lyman, a Utah House member from southern Utah, and former congressional candidate and Utah House member Chris Herrod.

Herrod ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in the 3rd Congressional District in 2018 and 2022 against U.S. Rep. John Curtis.

Jensen told the Daily Herald he has the support of former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert along with Education First Utah, which “supports candidates for the Utah legislature who are open minded, smart and reasonable in their approach to decision making” according to its website.

Republican delegates for District 60 will vote for the new representative at a meeting on Saturday at the Provo City Library beginning at 10 a.m.

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