The 2024 United States presidential election in Utah took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Utah voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Utah has six electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state neither gained nor lost a seat. Prior to the election, all major news organizations once again considered Utah a state Trump would win, or a red state.
Republican Donald Trump carried Utah by 21.6%, an improvement over his past two statewide victories. Trump's popular vote percentage increased by 1.25% compared to the previous presidential election. Although Trump improved his margin in all 50 states, Utah had the second-smallest swing to the right after Washington state.
Primary elections Democratic primary
The Utah Democratic primary was held on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Incumbent president Joe Biden easily won the state, facing minor opposition from activist Marianne Williamson and Congressman Dean Phillips.
Republican primary
The Utah Republican caucuses were held on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Former president Donald Trump defeated former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley in one of his weakest performances of the greater Republican primaries. The state GOP returned to organizing a caucus after its use of the primary system in 2020, which significantly lowered turnout.
General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of Cook Political Report December 19, 2023 Inside Elections April 26, 2023 Sabato's Crystal Ball June 29, 2023 Decision Desk HQ/The Hill December 14, 2023 CNalysis December 30, 2023 CNN January 14, 2024 The Economist June 12, 2024538 June 11, 2024RCP June 26, 2024 NBC News October 6, 2024
Candidate ballot access
As of August 2024, the following candidates have been designated as "Election Candidates": Kamala Harris / Tim Walz, Democratic Claudia De la Cruz / Karina Garcia, unaffiliated Lucifer "Justin Case" Everylove, unaffiliated Cornel West / Melina Abdullah, unaffiliated Donald Trump / JD Vance, Republican
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lawsuit On December 5, 2023, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a lawsuit against lieutenant governor Deidre Henderson and state elections director Ryan Cowley, arguing that the state's requirement for unaffiliated candidates to attain 1,000 verified signatures before the January 8 deadline is unconstitutional and that it forces Kennedy's campaign to hire professional petition circulators. In the 2020 election, the filing deadline was August 17, and was moved up in a bill passed by the Utah State Legislature in February 2022. Campaign lawyer Paul Rossi argued that the deadline was made "to block any third-party candidates from appearing on Utah's ballot," showing "an absolute contempt for the Constitution." A court filing was made by state attorney general Sean Reyes on December 7, stating that Henderson and Cowley have agreed to not enforce the deadline until March 5, 2024, per request of senior judge David Nuffer. Kennedy later qualified to appear on the Utah ballot on December 28, 2023, marking the first state to award him official ballot access. Kennedy would later withdraw from the ballot in Utah after the suspension of his campaign and endorse Donald Trump for president.
Polling Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DonaldTrump KamalaHarris Other /UndecidedActiVoteOctober 7–30, 2024400 (LV)± 4.9%60%40%–Noble Predictive InsightsOctober 2–7, 2024600 (RV)± 4.0%52%39%9%539 (LV)± 4.2%54%38%8%Public Policy Polling (D)September 27–28, 2024612 (LV)± 4.0%54%39%7%
Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris vs. Cornel West vs. Jill Stein vs. Chase Oliver Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DonaldTrump KamalaHarris CornelWest JillStein ChaseOliver Other /UndecidedNoble Predictive InsightsOctober 25–28, 2024695 (LV)± 3.7%54%34%0%0%1%11%Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of PoliticsOctober 15–19, 2024813 (RV)± 3.4%61%30%2%1%–6%63%31%4%2%––Noble Predictive InsightsOctober 2–7, 2024600 (RV)± 4.0%51%37%2%1%1%8%539 (LV)± 4.2%54%36%2%0%2%6% Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DonaldTrump JoeBiden Other /UndecidedDeseret News/Hinckley Institute of PoliticsJune 4–7, 2024857 (RV)± 3.4%57%25%18%John Zogby StrategiesApril 13–21, 2024414 (LV)–46%43%11%Noble Predictive InsightsApril 8–16, 2024600 (RV)± 4.0%54%26%20%Mainstreet Research/Florida Atlantic UniversityFebruary 29 – March 3, 2024174 (RV)–46%37%17%166 (LV)46%38%16%Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of PoliticsJanuary 16–21, 2024801 (RV)± 3.0%43%33%24%Emerson CollegeOctober 25–28, 2022825 (LV)± 3.0%47%34%19%
Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DonaldTrump JoeBiden Robert F.Kennedy Jr. Other /UndecidedDeseret News/Hinckley Institute of PoliticsJune 4–7, 2024857 (RV)± 3.4%49%20%20%11%
Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vs. Cornel West vs. Jill Stein Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DonaldTrump JoeBiden Robert F.Kennedy Jr. CornelWest JillStein Other /UndecidedNoble Predictive InsightsApril 8–16, 2024600 (RV)± 4.0%47%23%13%1%1%15%
Donald Trump vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error DonaldTrump Robert F.Kennedy Jr. Other /UndecidedJohn Zogby StrategiesApril 13–21, 2024414 (LV)–40%44%16%
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vs. Joe Biden Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error Robert F.Kennedy Jr. JoeBiden Other /UndecidedJohn Zogby StrategiesApril 13–21, 2024414 (LV)–54%36%10%
Results
By county
CountyDonald TrumpRepublicanKamala HarrisDemocratic Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total # % # % # % # %Beaver2,78186.58%39412.27%371.15%2,38774.32%3,212Box Elder22,85379.02%5,27418.24%7932.74%17,57960.78%28,920Cache39,45765.48%18,71831.06%2,0833.46%20,73934.42%60,258Carbon6,71971.14%2,52526.73%2012.13%4,19444.40%9,445Daggett44380.55%10118.36%61.09%34262.18%550Davis101,29360.81%59,89535.96%5,3823.23%41,39824.85%166,570Duchesne7,81587.14%1,00911.25%1441.61%6,80675.89%8,968Emery4,34186.63%60312.03%671.34%3,73874.60%5,011Garfield2,21178.66%54119.25%592.10%1,67059.41%2,811Grand2,32743.91%2,82853.36%1452.74%-501-9.45%5,300Iron21,57177.38%5,68320.39%6242.24%15,88856.99%27,878Juab5,67187.01%73411.26%1131.73%4,93775.74%6,518Kane3,27773.02%1,13725.33%741.65%2,14047.68%4,488Millard5,55887.02%71311.16%1161.82%4,84575.86%6,387Morgan5,30078.40%1,25618.58%2043.02%4,04459.82%6,760Piute85488.68%949.76%151.56%76078.92%963Rich1,21183.69%21414.79%221.52%99768.90%1,447Salt Lake221,55543.47%273,65853.70%14,4242.83%-52,103-10.22%509,637San Juan3,61357.09%2,58140.78%1352.13%1,03216.31%6,329Sanpete10,65382.30%1,90614.72%3852.97%8,74767.58%12,944Sevier9,52687.19%1,23611.31%1641.50%8,29075.87%10,926Summit10,78341.67%14,61256.47%4811.86%-3,829-14.80%25,876Tooele23,48469.06%9,56028.11%9622.83%13,92440.95%34,006Uintah13,59985.90%1,95212.33%2811.77%11,64773.57%15,832Utah203,47668.25%84,93728.49%9,7303.26%118,53939.76%298,143Wasatch11,49562.63%6,45935.19%4002.18%5,03627.44%18,354Washington73,16575.23%22,32722.96%1,7641.81%50,83852.27%97,256Wayne1,23874.98%38123.08%321.94%85751.91%1,651Weber67,54960.28%41,23836.80%3,2672.92%26,31123.48%112,054Totals883,81859.38%562,56637.79%42,1102.83%321,25221.58%1,488,494
By congressional district Trump won all four congressional districts. District Trump Harris Representative 58.54% 38.50%Blake Moore 58.88% 38.56%Celeste Maloy58.26%38.95%John Curtis (118th Congress)Mike Kennedy (119th Congress) 61.90% 35.23%Burgess Owens
Analysis A Mountain West state, Utah has not been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson did in his 1964 landslide and is a strongly red state, a trait vastly owed to the state's conservative Mormon base. While the state has voted considerably less Republican than before 2016, Utah remains a GOP stronghold at both the federal and state levels. Utah stayed strongly red in other races, with Republican John Curtis winning by 31% in the concurrent 2024 U.S. Senate election in Utah, greatly outperforming Trump.
While Trump won the state handily, Utah had the second-smallest shift to the right in the nation in 2024 after Washington state. Trump improved his margin by just over 1%, compared to the national rightward swing of 6%. Despite Trump's improved margin from 2020, Utah was the only state where Harris won a higher percentage of the vote than Biden in 2020, and it was the highest percentage of the vote won by a Democrat in Utah since Johnson's 1964 victory. Utah was also one of only six states where Harris received more raw votes than Biden in 2020.
Democrat Kamala Harris won the same three counties that Joe Biden did in 2020: Salt Lake, home to the state capital and largest city Salt Lake City; Summit, home to a handful of ski resorts and SLC suburbs; and Grand, home to Moab and nearby Arches National Park. 17 out of Utah's 29 counties also shifted to Harris compared to 2020.
Nationwide trends According to an analysis by The Economist, this may have been because of a realignment of college-educated and native-born voters to Democrats, while non-college and foreign-born voters shifted to Republicans. This played out nationally, with Harris gaining among White women with college degrees and Black women, while Trump gained among Whites without college degrees and Hispanic voters.
Utah, one of the most highly-educated states with relatively few foreign-born residents, did not shift significantly rightward. For example, Harris won over 30% of the vote in Cache County, home to Utah State University, the highest since 1964.
See also United States presidential elections in Utah 2024 United States presidential election 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries 2024 Utah elections 2024 United States elections
Notes
Partisan clients
References