ST. GEORGE — In the wake of Rep. Travis Seegmiller’s recent resignation announcement, the Washington County Republican Party will be holding a special election to appoint an interim replacement to fill the remainder of the representative’s term.

News of Seegmiller’s pending resignation broke Tuesday with a press release issued by the Utah House. Included in the release was a statement from House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, who accepted the resignation and said he appreciated the time Seegmiller devoted to being a state legislator.

As to why Seegmiller has decided to resign, he wrote that, “An unexpected opportunity has arisen that will allow me, my wife and our young children to eventually continue our family’s farming heritage elsewhere for generations to come.”

This opportunity will require Seegmiller and his family to relocate out of House district 73 (formerly House district 62). His resignation takes effect July 1.

“The Washington County Republican Party wishes to thank Representative Seegmiller for his service and commitment to the constitution and conservative values,” county party officials said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

In response to Seegmiller’s resignation, the Washington County Republican Party’s central committee will hold a special election on June 1 in St. George. The committee will select an interim replacement to serve the remainder of Seegmiller’s term, which expires Jan. 17, 2023.

While members of the public are invited to attend, only members of the party’s central committee are able to vote in the special election.

To file an intent to run for the interim office and finish Seegmiller’s term, the official documents (including the delegate agreement form, intent to run and platform agreement) are located on the Washington County Republican Party website under candidate disclosures.

Email all forms to the Washington County Republican Party Secretary at [email protected].

The deadline to file is Tuesday, May 17 at 5 p.m.

Qualifications

Those seeking to fill the interim term must meet the following qualifications per state law:

• Be a United States citizen.
• Be at least 25 years when the oath of office is taken.
• Be a registered Republican.
• Be a three-year consecutive resident of Utah at the filing deadline.
• Be a six-month consecutive resident of the district from which elected at the filing deadline.
• Be a qualified voter in the district from which the person is chosen.
• Can not be convicted of certain crimes.
• Unless unaffiliated, the candidate must be a member of the registered political party.

The meeting of the Washington County Republican central committee will be held at 7 p.m. at the Best Western Abbey Inn at 1129 S. Bluff St., in St. George. The credentialing of the committee members starts at 6 p.m.

This is the fourth special election the Washington County Republican Party will have held over the last year.

Two special elections held last July were had for a Washington County Commission sand and the County Clerk/Auditor possession following the resignations of the late Commissioner Dean Cox and then Clerk/Auditor Kim Hafen. They were replaced with Adam Snow and Susan Lewis respectively. While both are running to the office this year, Lewis in running unopposed.

The third special election occurred in early December the Washington County Sheriff. Chief Deputy Nate Brooksby was selected by the central committee to replace Sheriff Cory Pulsipher who retired due to health reasons and recently died. Brooksby is also running for office this year and is unopposed in the general election.

As for Seegmiller, his own resignation takes effect two days after the Republican primary. As he has yet to remove his name from the ballot, there is a chance he could win the primary. This would allow the party delegates to pick his successor.

Running against Seegmiller in the primary election for House District 73, which represents parts of Washington City and St. George are Colin Jack and Nina Barnes.

While Barnes secured her place on the primary ballot through the signature route, Jack forced Seegmiller into a primary when he took 56.1% of the delegate vote to Seegmiller’s 43.9% during the county party’s nominating convention last month.

As Jack took the majority of the delegate vote, there is the potential he could be favored among the party delegates to be Seegmiller’s interim replacement if he applies for the interim appointment.

The last time the Washington County Republican Party selected someone to replace an outgoing state representative was in September 2016 following the resignation of then Sen. Steve Urquhart of St. George.

The central committee chose Rep. Don Ipson to succeed Urquhart as the senator for district 29 – the very same position he was running for. Ipson, who had been House District 75’s representative, was in turn replaced with Walt Brooks, who also running for House District 75 seat at the time.

Both men won their respective races a month later and continue to hold the legislative seats for Senate District 29 and House District 75.

The candidate that wins the Republican primary effectively wins the election overall as the winning candidate will be running unopposed in the November general election.

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