Mike Kennedy wins Utah 3rd District race to replace John Curtis – Deseret News

State Sen. Mike Kennedy declared victory in the race to fill Utah's open 3rd Congressional District seat on Tuesday night.

The Associated Press had not yet called the race and Kennedy's Democratic opponent, Glenn Wright, had not yet conceded.

Kennedy, R-Alpine, maintained a lead of more than 30 percentage points over Wright, with some precincts reporting. As of 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday night, vote totals showed Kennedy with 65.1% of the vote and Wright with 34.9%.

Hundreds of supporters joined Kennedy as results rolled in on Tuesday night. Kennedy hosted his election night watch party at the Provo headquarters of Moxie Pest Control, featuring an arcade, pingpong tables and free bowling as projectors displaying the presidential race coverage.

Kennedy addressed the disproportionately young crowd made up of constituents, patients and state lawmakers in a prepared speech. Wright had not called to concede at the time of the speech.

"As I prepare to represent you in Washington, I remain committed to our core values. We have seen too much division and chaos in Washington. I am not going there to be another headline. I am going as a healer," Kennedy said.

"For over 25 years, I served as a family doctor to thousands of Utahns, and I will bring that same spirit of healing to Washington to mend divides and find real solutions that serve all Americans."

Who is Mike Kennedy? Kennedy, a practicing doctor and trained lawyer , has served in the state Legislature for nearly a decade after entering office in 2013. He left in 2018 to run unsuccessfully against Mitt Romney for the U.S. Senate before returning to the Legislature in 2020 by winning a special election for Utah Senate.

Jennifer Price, a charter school principal in Vineyard who was in attendance, said her support for Kennedy stems from 20 years of being his patient. During that time, Price said Kennedy always took the time to answer questions, whether they were medical or political.

"He is a man of the utmost integrity," said Price, who considers herself a conservative with concerns about former President Donald Trump. "If Trump wins, I hope (Kennedy) will work with him to pass a conservative Agenda."

His time as a state lawmaker has been noted by a focus on health care legislation, including bills to address licensure reform, the state Medicaid budget and transgender treatments for minors . In 2023, Kennedy sponsored a successful bill to ban sex reassignment surgeries for minors, put an indefinite pause on hormonal treatments for new child patients and order a review of the medical evidence surrounding these treatments to inform future policies.

Logan resident Andrew Garrett who was in attendance said he supports Kennedy because he took the time to bring all stakeholders to the table while also taking principled stances on tough issues.

"Even though he took conservative positions and voted conservatively, he still did a really good job listening and having that rapport," Garrett said. "I think Mike has more that balance, where he'll take conservative positions but stay civil and still listen to everyone and develop relationships."

What's next for Kennedy? Wright took aim at Kennedy for his conservative social stances during an at times abrasive debate performance. Wright, a former Summit County councilman, criticized Kennedy for his support of Trump. Wright argued that his background in local government and insurance loss control qualified him to take common sense stances on spending, housing and artificial intelligence technologies.

In a prepared statement, Wright said he was proud of the campaign he ran to show "a more unified and representative Utah."

"Wright ran his campaign to bring integrity, accountability, and respect back to leadership," the statement said. "As Dr. Kennedy steps into this role, Wright genuinely hopes he evolves to represent all Utahns, not just those who share his viewpoints."

On the campaign trail, Kennedy has promised to pursue solutions to problems like national debt, immigration and foreign conflicts without regard to partisan pressures. Kennedy's priority will be to utilize his medical experience to streamline Medicaid and Medicare programs to improve services and decrease costs for the American taxpayer.

Kennedy emerged from a competitive five-way primary race with a solid plurality of support, winning the GOP nomination for the seat currently held by Rep. John Curtis by 17 percentage points. A week prior to the election, Kennedy received the endorsement of Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

Prior to winning the primary, Kennedy vowed to continue Curtis' focus on energy innovation if he were elected to represent the 3rd District, which is comprised of southeast Salt Lake County, most of Utah County and all of eastern Utah, including the oil-rich Uintah Basin and coal-heavy Carbon County.