Rep. Phil Lyman announces candidacy for Governor

by David Boyle
News Director
Utah House District 69 representative and Blanding resident Phil Lyman officially announced his bid for Governor on October 30.
Rep. Phil Lyman (R) announced his candidacy for governor in a one-minute video ad shared on social media platforms on the afternoon of October 30.
Sharing the video Lyman wrote:
“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, and I’m asking my fellow Utahns for your vote for Governor.”
Lyman’s website lists top priorities including energy independence for Utah and empowering counties. Also listed are families first, individual rights, election integrity, and infrastructure.
While in the legislature Lyman has served as the chair/co-chair of the conservative caucus. 
Before Lyman was elected to the Utah House he served on the San Juan County Commission.
Lyman’s ad references his jail time related to a protest ride in Recapture Canyon.
While on the county commission in 2014 Lyman organized an ATV protest ride in Recapture Canyon just outside of Blanding. 
 A trail running through the canyon had been closed to motorized vehicles several years earlier by the Bureau of Land Management and local residents had grown frustrated by the lack of progress in settling the long-standing issue. The canyon contains Native American cliff dwellings.
After being convicted for organizing the ride in 2015, Lyman was sentenced to ten days in jail and ordered to pay about $96,000 in restitution.
Lyman later received a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump in December 2019.
Republican Incumbent Governor Spencer Cox is running for re-election. Party primaries will be in June 2024 with the general election in November.