Davis County GOP won't fill former Rep. Trevor Lee's seat before the general election

LAYTON — Republican delegates in Davis County won't vote to fill former Rep. Trevor Lee's seat in the Utah House of Representatives ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the county party announced this week.

Lee, a lame-duck Republican who lost his primary reelection in June, stepped down from his House District 16 last week after being charged with four felonies, including communications fraud and mortgage fraud. Utah law allows party delegates in the district to nominate a replacement candidate to fill the remainder of a term when there is a vacancy.

But with Election Day looming in less than a month, the Davis County Republican Party opted not to hold a special convention and let Lee's seat remain vacant until the winner of the election is sworn in early next year.

"It seemed that this would be the best course of action right now," Don Guymon, the chairman of the county party, told KSL of the decision to leave the seat vacant.

He noted that there was little time to let delegates fully vet candidates before a convention would be held, and said he made the decision after consulting with party members and the county party's executive committee.

The obvious choice of replacement for some was County Commissioner Bob Stevenson, who defeated Lee in the GOP primary and is now the party nominee for the seat. But Stevenson is still a member of the county commission and didn't want to vacate that seat while the county is finalizing its budget for the next year.

Guymon said he also considered appointing an entirely different person to steward the seat for a few months. Rep. Steve Handy — who was defeated by Lee in 2022 — had been floated as a possible option.

At least one person had expressed interest in the role, according to Guymon, who said he felt it was best to move forward with the vacancy.

"After reviewing the applicable law and legislative schedule, we determined that a replacement election at this point would address only the remaining interim legislative meetings before the new legislative term begins," the party said in a post on Facebook. "Commissioner Stevenson plans to attend those meetings so that the residents of House District 16 and Davis County continue to have a voice. Importantly, any final votes on legislation during the regular legislative session would not occur until after Commissioner Stevenson takes office."

Stevenson will attend those meetings in his capacity as commissioner and would play an official role in legislative proceedings, Guymon said. The party said it could change its mind before the end of the year if the Legislature called a special session to address some previously unforeseen circumstance.

But Stevenson's democratic opponent, Abigail Treasure, took issue with the GOP's messaging, saying it appeared to assume the Republican would win the seat next month.

"As far as the interim replacement ... I don't have any strong feelings about whether they should hold a special election at this moment. If legislation did come up, though, our voters deserve a voice there, so that could become a problem," she told KSL. "The thing that surprised me about their statement, however, was the assumption that Bob Stevenson will be sworn in in January. ... That is not a guarantee. There is still a general election and the voters still get to have their voice heard."

She also suggested Stevenson should focus on his role on the county commission rather than attending interim legislative meetings.

Stevenson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ballots for the general election will be sent out Oct. 13, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

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