Utah's Republican Party has confirmed that incumbent Robert Axson will retain his position as GOP chair after a close race against challenger Phil Lyman. In the 2025 State Organizing Convention held over the weekend, Axson, who has been serving since 2023, secured his re-election, buoyed by an endorsement from President Donald Trump, as reported by KUTV.
In an unexpected twist at the convention, an amendment that could have ousted signature-gathering candidates from the party was quickly dismissed. Instead, delegates passed a platform amendment underscoring the Utah GOP's stance against the gathering of signatures, declaring, "We reject any method that bypasses our convention process, including the gathering of signatures," as obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, which noted the absence of debate on what was anticipated to be one of the convention's most contentious issues.
Lyman took the stage to cheers from his ardent followers, alongside some sporting "Make Utah Great Again" attire. His speech, as reported by KSL, drew parallels between historical events and current party tensions. "We found out that you can't put the collective conscience in the hands of government or in the hands of judges or even in the hands of churches. It belongs to the people," Lyman asserted, as per KSL. His comments on the Salem witch trials and their modern-day equivalents resonated with some of his supporters, suggesting a likening of their party's infighting to past persecutions.
