John Curtis declared victor in Utah GOP Senate primary race

Rep. John Curtis won the Republican primary in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, according to The Associated Press.

“Figuring out how to thank you is just very difficult. And you can’t say thank you without first of all saying thank you to my family,” Curtis said to his family and supporters on Tuesday night. “I have six kids and 17 grandkids. And if you want to know why in the end I did this, it’s the 17 grandkids.”

With 77% of the votes counted, the 3rd District congressman received 51.7% of votes, while Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs received 28.6%, former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson received 13.6% and Moxie Pest Control CEO Jason Walton received 6.1%.