Curtis wins Chaffetz’s former Utah House seat

Republican John Curtis coasted to victory Tuesday night to capture the House seat vacated by former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) earlier this year, according to The Associated Press.

Curtis, the mayor of Provo, Utah, comfortably defeated Democrat Kathryn Allen and third-party candidate Jim Bennett in the race for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District.

Curtis faced efforts by his opponents to link him to President Trump. But the Provo mayor openly acknowledged that he did not vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, though he supports Trump’s agenda.

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Chaffetz resigned from Congress at the end of June, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family. He has since taken a job as a commentator for Fox News, and has left open the possibility that he could run for public office again.

Curtis will serve out the next year in the House before he faces reelection next November.

The special election for Utah’s 3rd District was one of seven taking place this year. Republicans have dominated in all but one of the contests that have been held so far.

The next special election will be in Alabama, were Republican Roy Moore is facing off against Democrat Doug Jones for the Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore is favored to win in the deep-red state.