[2] This was the smallest percent of the vote by a winning republican since the 1992 election, which also saw a major independent candidate.

In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump carried Utah by 20.5 percentage points.

[5] Incumbent Republican governor Spencer Cox faced criticism from many conservatives for his moderate political positions, including his veto of HB11,[6] and opposition to former president Donald Trump.

[8] He faced a primary challenge from state representative Phil Lyman, who won over 67% of the vote at the convention.

[29] Cox has since backed Trump after an assassination attempt made during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, stating in a letter: "Your life was spared.