SALT LAKE CITY — Republican state Rep. Phil Lyman is challenging incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox for the GOP gubernatorial nomination next year.

Lyman, in his third term in the Utah House, announced his run Monday afternoon with a campaign video posted to the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

It appears Lyman will make his 2015 federal conviction for leading an illegal ATV protest on federal lands a centerpiece of his campaign for the Republican nomination. Shortly before leaving office, former President Donald Trump pardoned Lyman in December of 2020.

“If we find ourselves with a government that conjures emergencies to trample our rights, then in our republic, we have the right to choose new leaders. I believe we have better roads ahead,” Lyman said in a news release announcing his candidacy.

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Written by BRIAN SCHOTT, Salt Lake Tribune

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