Republican US Rep. John Curtis wins Mitt Romney's open Senate seat in Utah

PROVO, Utah (AP) — U.S. Rep. John Curtis will succeed Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate after the Republican breezed to victory over his Democratic opponent in deeply red Utah.

Curtis defeated Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist from Park City, in a race that often centered around each candidate’s climate policies. The incoming senator leads the Conservative Climate Caucus on Capitol Hill and has developed a reputation for pushing back against party leaders such as Donald Trump who falsely claim that climate change is a hoax.

He will succeed one of Washington’s most prominent centrists and an outspoken critic of Trump.

Curtis took the stage with his wife, children and grandchildren at a lively watch party Tuesday night in Provo, the city where he was once mayor, to speak to supporters after his victory.

“You elected me to legislate, to advocate and represent you," Curtis said. "My agenda will be your agenda. My voice will lift your voice. My vote will reflect your values. And, together, we'll make Washington more like Utah.”

“I hope that you’ll see in my actions the dignity of working together and of unity," he added. "As Utah’s senator, I will make this model my mandate.”

Curtis, 64, began his political career as a county-level Democratic Party official. He is the longest-serving member of Utah’s U.S. House delegation and is viewed as a moderate in the manner of Romney.

The incoming senator said he plans to carve out his own brand of conservatism in the post-Romney era of Utah politics, with a focus on bringing Republicans to the table on issues involving climate change.

Romney congratulated Curtis on his win Tuesday night, calling him a man of honor and integrity who puts others before himself.

“John Curtis has admirably represented the interests of Utahns in the House, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so in the Senate," Romney said in a statement on the social media platform X. “Our country needs more leaders like him.”

In the June primary, Curtis emerged from a crowded pool of candidates to defeat a Trump-backed mayor. He said Tuesday night that he voted for Trump, sticking with his early pledge to vote for the ultimate Republican presidential nominee.

His climate caucus takes a market-based approach to environmental issues, countering Democratic policies with proposals that Curtis has said aim to lower emissions without compromising American jobs and economic principles. Gleich had accused him of pandering to the fossil fuel industry instead of supporting policies she said are needed to protect public lands, air and water.

At his watch party, Curtis treated friends and family to live music and local food vendors. On their way out the door, each attendee received a pair of socks picturing Curtis with Utah's iconic Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.

The state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970.

Gleich congratulated Curtis in a statement while saying she was proud of the campaign she ran and looked forward to working with Curtis to help protect the environment.

“While the result was not what we had hoped, we focused on critical issues: climate action, public lands and reproductive freedom,” Gleich said.

Curtis told reporters that Gleich is one of the hardest working people he has met in Utah, and he commended her for putting so much heart into her campaign.

Moderate Republicans like Curtis tend to prevail in statewide elections in Utah.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who make up about half of the state’s 3.4 million residents, have been a reliably Republican voting bloc for decades. But many have been hesitant to embrace Trump and his allies, saying the former president’s brash style and comments about immigrants and refugees clash with their religious beliefs.

Republican Mike Kennedy also won election to the open U.S. House seat Curtis is vacating. Kennedy handily defeated Democrat Glenn Wright in the 3rd Congressional District, which spans eastern Utah and includes the cities of Orem and Provo. This will be Kennedy’s first term in Congress after serving in the state Legislature since 2013.

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis greets supporters during a election night party Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to the media, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

A stack of free socks for U.S. Rep. John Curtis supporters sit out, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis greets supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters during a election night party Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

U.S. Rep. John Curtis greets supporters during a election night party Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez won reelection in New Mexico’s swing district along the U.S.-Mexico border, in a rematch against the Republican he ousted in 2022.

GOP challenger Yvette Herrell waged her fourth consecutive campaign for Congress in the majority-Latino district that stretches from the border to Albuquerque.

Separately, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich won reelection Tuesday to a third term in New Mexico, defeating Republican nominee Nella Domenici — the daughter of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete V. Domenici — in her first bid for public office.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Democratic state lawmakers redrew congressional boundaries in 2021 to divvy up a politically conservative, oil-producing region among three districts.

Vasquez, a former Las Cruces city councilor, has invoked his knowledge of the border region and its economy as the U.S.-born son of immigrants from Mexico. His campaign has proposed safeguards against cartels that smuggle drugs or migrants, a humanitarian approach to asylum-seekers and support for abortion rights.

Herrell, a real estate agent and former state legislator, campaigned this year alongside Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in favor of hard-line immigration enforcement policies. She has denounced oversight of the border under President Biden while advocating for a return to efforts by former President Donald Trump to expand the border wall and to enforce requirements that asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

The district still includes portions of the oil-rich Permian Basin, and Herrell has cast herself as a staunch advocate for the energy industry in the No. 2 state for petroleum production after Texas. Vasquez unsuccessfully proposed creation of a compensation fund for uninsured medical costs related to air pollution and heat-related illness, in a bill geared toward oilfield workers.

On abortion access, Herrell has downplayed Congress’ role and says she’ll defer to state law after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. She previously supported legislation in Congress to restrict abortion access.

New Mexico abortion laws are among the most liberal in the nation. Vasquez supports initiatives in Congress to uphold abortion rights.

During her term in Congress, Herrell joined Republicans on Jan. 6, 2021, in rejecting the certification of Biden’s election victory in Arizona and Pennsylvania. She also voted against a bipartisan 2021 law that invested billions in America’s infrastructure.

The district’s voting age population is roughly 56% Latino — with centuries-old ties to Mexican and Spanish settlement — and 5% Native American, traversing the Mescalero Apache Reservation, four pueblo communities, outlying portions of the Navajo Nation and land holdings of the Oklahoma-based Fort Sill Apache Tribe.

Meanwhile in a hard-fought Senate race, Heinrich won over voters while highlighting his work on infrastructure, energy policy and an expansion of national security spending at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He’s been an advocate for gun safety and voiced support for an overhaul of Senate filibuster rules that can be easily used to hinder or block votes.

Domenici, a former executive at hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, failed to gain traction while touting her business know-how and concerns about crime, inflation and public education.

She characterized the U.S.-Mexico border as a crisis of crime and drugs, and advocated for expanding alternatives to traditional public schools.

The Senate candidates clashed on abortion rights as New Mexico increasingly serves as a destination for care for patients traveling from nearby states where the procedure is banned. Heinrich supports an expansion of federal abortion guarantees, while Domenici emphasized state rights and said she'd focus on efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies through education and birth control.

Domenici said she’d vote for Trump, though she didn’t mention him much while campaigning. Trump lost the 2020 vote in New Mexico by an 11% margin. Domenici’s father was the last New Mexico Republican to serve in the Senate, retiring after six terms in 2009.

He was the longest serving New Mexico senator, who chaired powerful Senate budget and energy committees.

Mariana Quiroz and Ethan Hernandez wait in a long line to cast their vote at Las Cruces, N.M., City Hall to cast their ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Joey Ferno, 4, plays on the floor while his mother Whitney, top, casts her ballot at the Your Vote Center in Petroglyph Plaza on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Albuquerque, N.M. (Gino Gutierrez/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

People enter Las Cruces, N.M., City Hall to cast their ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Voters cast their ballots at the Your Vote Center in the Andalucia Shopping Center on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Albuquerque, N.M. (Gino Gutierrez/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

FILE - Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., listens during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, May 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

FILE - Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Nella Domenici is seen, Feb. 6, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File)

FILE - Republican candidate for New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District Yvette Herrell speaks at a campaign event in Las Cruces, N.M., Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

FILE - Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., speaks during a news conference to announce the bipartisan Southwest Caucus, June 15, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)