2014 Utah Attorney General special election

2014 Utah Attorney General special election

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DEM Nominee Sean Reyes Charles Stormont Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 355,275 151,967 Percentage 63.06% 26.97%

Reyes:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Stormont:     40–50%

Attorney General before election Sean Reyes Republican Elected Attorney General Sean Reyes Republican

The 2014 Utah Attorney General special election was held on November 4, 2014. Attorney General John Swallow resigned after investigations into improprieties, and Governor Gary Herbert appointed Sean Reyes to replace him. Reyes defeated Democratic nominee Charles Stormont in a landslide. Stormont was the first Democratic candidate since 2004 to win multiple counties, carrying Summit and Grand counties.

Appointment

Pursuant to Utah law, Governor Gary Herbert was required to pick a replacement from three names chosen by the Utah Republican Party Central Committee. ^[1] Nine Republican candidates put their names forward for consideration. They were:

• Scott Burns, former Iron County attorney, former deputy director for State and Local Affairs at the ONDCP and nominee for attorney general in 1992 and 1996
• Michelle Mumford, an attorney, assistant dean of admissions at the Brigham Young University law school and secretary of the Utah Republican Party
• Bret Rawson, a reserve Bountiful policeman and attorney
• Sean Reyes, an attorney who lost to Swallow in the primary in 2012
• Stephen Sorenson, a retired prosecutor and former head of the litigation division of the Attorney General's office
• Robert Smith, an attorney and managing director of Brigham Young University's International Center for Law and Religion Studies
• Brian Tarbet, a retired Adjutant General of the Utah National Guard and the Acting Attorney General
• Brent Ward, former United States Attorney for the District of Utah and a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992
• Michael J. Wilkins, a former justice of the Utah Supreme Court and former chairman of the Utah Independent Ethics Commission.

Burns, Sorensen, Tarbet and Wilkins all said they would not run in the special election if chosen. ^[2]

Sorenson withdrew from contention on December 9, 2013, with Ward also withdrawing two days later. ^[3] A debate was held on December 11 ^[4] and Reyes, Smith and Tarbet were chosen as the finalists by the Central Committee on December 14. ^[5] Herbert chose Reyes on December 23, ^[6] who was sworn in on December 30, 2013. ^[7]

General election

Candidates

• Sean Reyes, appointed incumbent Attorney General (Republican)
• Charles Stormont, rancher and attorney (Democratic) ^[8]
• W. Andrew McCullough, perennial candidate, Libertarian nominee for this office in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 (Libertarian)
• Gregory Hansen (Constitution)
• Leslie Curtis (Independent American)

Results

2014 Utah Attorney General special election ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Sean Reyes	355,275	63.06%	1.64
	Democratic	Charles Stormont	151,967	26.97%	2.96
	Libertarian	W. Andrew McCullough	22,333	3.96%	1.41
	Constitution	Gregory Hansen	18,722	3.32%	New
	Independent American	Leslie Curtis	15,108	2.68%	New
Total votes			563,403	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

References

1. "AG candidate race heats up". KSL-TV. December 6, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
2. "Acting A.G. joins GOP race to replace Swallow". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
3. "Ward drops out of A.G. race over residency questions". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 11, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
4. "AG candidates agree: Office needs change and they're best fit for the job". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 12, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
5. "GOP picks Reyes, Smith and Tarbet as finalists for Utah attorney general". The Salt Lake Tribune. December 14, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
6. "Gov. Gary Herbert names Sean Reyes as Utah attorney general". Deseret News. December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
7. "Reyes sworn in as Utah's new Attorney General". 4Utah. December 30, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
8. "Democrat Charles Stormont to Run for Attorney General". KUER-FM. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
9. "2014 General". Utah Voter Information. Retrieved April 1, 2025.