By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Mitt Romney handily won the Republican primary for a Utah Senate seat Tuesday after toning down his criticism of Donald Trump as he looks to re-start his political career.
The former presidential candidate was the heavy favorite to win the primary in the race to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch in Utah, where he's a beloved adopted son.
But Romney was forced into a primary after a narrow loss to state lawmaker Mike Kennedy in front of a right-leaning group of core GOP party members at the state convention in April.
During the campaign, Kennedy painted his political-heavyweight opponent as an out-of-towner who couldn't get along with Trump. He didn't immediately concede the race Tuesday.
Romney blasted Trump as a "phony" and a "fraud," during the 2016 presidential campaign, but the two men have largely buried the hatchet.
Romney has accepted the president's endorsement and predicted he'll win another term in 2020, though he's also said he'll speak out on significant matters he considers racist, sexist or anti-immigrant.
At a festive primary election night party, dozens of Romney supporters gathered near an inflatable bouncy castle, munching on snow cones and hot dogs as country music and classic rock played from speakers.
Romney spoke surrounded by his wife, Ann, and some of their children and grandchildren at sunset on a podium set in front of picturesque mountains.
He promised to "make sure that the example I set as a leader is consistent with the values of our state and the great founding values of the United States of America" in Washington.
He now faces Democratic Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, though GOP candidates have a big upper hand in the conservative state.
Romney moved to Utah in 2012. He's known there for turning around the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics after a bribery scandal and later becoming the first Mormon presidential nominee of a major political party.
In another marquee race in Utah, U.S. Rep. John Curtis took a major step toward winning his first full term in Congress in the 3rd Congressional District, stretching from Salt Lake City suburbs to the state's southeast corner.
He won a special election last year to finish Rep. Jason Chaffetz's term, and declared victory Tuesday in a rematch against former state lawmaker Chris Herrod.
The hard-right leaning Herrod is known for his strict stance on immigration and has strongly aligned himself with Trump.
Curtis, meanwhile, is considered more moderate and has spoken against broad-based tariffs and bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic fully automatic weapons.
On the Democratic side, businessman Kurt Weiland and social worker Lee Castillo were competing to face eight-term U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, a Republican in the 1st Congressional District in northern Utah.
Other noteworthy candidates competing in races Tuesday include Democrat Derek Kitchen, a Salt Lake City councilman running for the state Legislature. He rose to prominence when he and his partner were part of a lawsuit that overturned Utah's ban on gay marriage.
He's facing physician Jennifer Plumb, a doctor who vows to work to reduce opioid overdoses, in the primary to replace outspoken Democratic state Sen. Jim Dabakis.
GOP voters were also deciding the next sheriff of Utah County. Pleasant Grove Police Chief Mike Smith was vying in the Republican primary against U.S. Marshal Jim Phelps to replace Jim Tracy, who is retiring as the sheriff of Utah's second-largest county.
There are no candidates on the Democratic side, so Tuesday's winner will be unopposed in November.
State director of elections Justin Lee said that 301,000 ballots had been cast by mail or through early voting. It's unclear how many voters are eligible to vote in the primary because there aren't races in every party in every part of the state.
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Associated Press writers Julian Hattem and Rick Bowmer in Salt Lake City and Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). In this Saturday, June 23, 2018, photo, Mitt Romney shakes hands during the Strawberry Day Parade in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Romney faces state lawmaker Mike Kennedy on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, as the ex-presidential nominee looks ...
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). In this Friday, June 22, 2018, photo, Mike Kennedy, left, speaks with a family at a backyard meet and greet in Holladay, Utah. Mitt Romney faces state lawmaker Kennedy on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, as the ex-presidential nominee lo...
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). In this Saturday, June 23, 2018, photo, U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks during a town hall meeting, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Curtis is looking to take a major step toward winning his first full term in Congress in Utah's 3rd Di...
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File). FILE - In this April 23, 2016, file photo, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, speaks during the Utah Republican Party 2016 nominating convention in Salt Lake City. Utah's primary election Tuesday, June 26, 2018, will give former GO...
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer). Mitt and Ann Romney are greeted by a supporter during the Strawberry Day Parade Saturday, June 23, 2018, in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Romney is flashing his familiar smile at city parks and backyards in Utah's mountains and suburbs ...