Utah Attorney General election, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)
- Primary date: June 30
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): June 19
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No (in-person registration canceled)
- Early voting starts: N/A (in-person voting canceled)
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): June 30 (postmarked)
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: No polling hours (in-person voting canceled)
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| Utah Attorney General |
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| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 19, 2020 |
| Primary: June 30, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent(s): Sean D. Reyes (R) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Utah |
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Incumbent Sean Reyes defeated David Leavitt in the Republican Party primary for Utah attorney general on June 30, 2020. Reyes received 54% of the vote to Leavitt's 46%.
Reyes and Leavitt advanced from the April 25 state Republican Party convention, where Reyes received 57.5% of the vote to Leavitt's 42.5%. Former candidate John Swallow was eliminated from the running at the convention.[1]
Reyes became attorney general in 2013. He ran on his record, saying he protected children, teens, people's private online data, and family finances. He said Leavitt's focus on criminal justice reform as the most important issue showed he was not qualified to hold the office. Reyes also said, "My opponent talks about me being aggressive. I am aggressive on crime. But there's a reason people like Sen. Mike Lee have said that I've done more for criminal justice reform than any other Republican attorney general in the United States."[2]
Leavitt was elected as Utah County attorney in 2018. He previously served as advisor to the National Institute of Justice for Moldova and to the Supreme Court of Ukraine. Leavitt said criminal justice reform should be the focus of the office and that he would work to reduce the number of plea bargains and increase the number of jury trials. He said Reyes "believes in the 'lock 'em up' mentality that is destroying all of us. And I will say, 'Punishment, yes; retribution, no.' It's about redemption."[2]
The Cook Political Report rated the general election Solid Republican as of June 12, 2020.[3]
This page focuses on Utah's Republican Attorney General primary. For more in-depth information on Utah's Democratic Attorney General primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Utah Attorney General election, 2020 (April 25 Democratic convention)
- Utah Attorney General election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Utah modified its primary election process as follows:
- Candidate filing procedures: Candidate and campaigns were allowed to deliver petition sheets to voters electronically. Voters were allowed to return signed petition sheets electronically or by mail.
- Voting procedures: In-person Election Day voting, in-person early voting, and in-person voter registration in the primary election were cancelled.
- Political party events: The Democratic Party of Utah canceled both its caucuses and its state convention. The Republican Party of Utah postponed caucuses and canceled its in-person state convention.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Election updates
- June 7, 2020: A Suffolk University poll conducted on behalf of the Salt Lake Tribune found Reyes apparently leading Leavitt with 31% support to Leavitt's 26%. The poll reported a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.[4]
Candidates and election results
Republican primary
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Utah
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sean D. Reyes | 54.0 | 275,212 |
 | David Leavitt | 46.0 | 234,036 | |
| Total votes: 509,248 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican convention
Republican convention
Republican Convention for Attorney General of Utah
The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: David Leavitt in round 2 , and Sean D. Reyes in round 2 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.
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Total votes: 3,570 |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[5] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office:
Utah County Attorney (Assumed office: 2019); Juab County Attorney (1995-2003)
Biography: Leavitt received an undergraduate degree and a law degree from Brigham Young University. He was a city attorney in Nephi and Fillmore. Leavitt served as a board member of the Utah Prosecution Council and of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors. He was advisor to the National Institute of Justice for Moldova from 2014 to 2018 and advisor to the Supreme Court of Ukraine from 2001 to 2009. Leavitt has practiced privately and operated the Leavitt Institute For International Development.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Utah in 2020.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
Utah Attorney General (Assumed office: 2013)
Biography: Reyes received an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from U.C. Berkeley. He practiced law at Parsons Behle & Latimer. Reyes was a member of the Utah State Bar Commission and the United States Congressional Commission. Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) appointed him to the State Judicial Nominating Commission for the Third Judicial District. Reyes also served on the Utah Republican Party State Central Committee and as president of the Utah Minority Bar.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Utah in 2020.
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
| Utah Attorney General election, 2020: Republican primary election polls | |||||||
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| Poll | Date | Reyes | Leavitt | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | Sponsor |
| Suffolk University | June 4-7, 2020 | 31% | 26% | 43% | 4.4% | 500 | The Salt Lake Tribune |
See also
| Utah | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Utah Republican Party, "Convention Results," accessed June 25, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Salt Lake Tribune, "GOP Utah attorney general debate turns into a slugfest," updated June 3, 2020
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "An Updated Look at Handicapping the 2020 Attorney General Elections," June 12, 2020
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Poll: GOP Utah attorney general race is close, with many undecided voters," June 11, 2020
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
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