Here’s what’s at stake at GOP, Democratic nominating conventions this weekend

SALT LAKE CITY — Saturday will mark the end of the road for some candidates’ election hopes as thousands of Republican and Democratic delegates convene to select party nominees for federal, statewide and statehouse races.

 

State election law provides two paths to the primary ballot for each party: winning at least 40% of the vote from delegates at convention or collecting a certain number of verified signatures from registered voters within the district. Because of this, several of the high-profile races in this year’s election — including for vacant seats for U.S. Senate and the 3rd Congressional District — won’t be decided Saturday as multiple candidates have already qualified for the June 25 primary.

But for the candidates who decided to take the convention-only route or failed to qualify by collecting signatures, the conventions present win or go home stakes.

Delegates — who are selected during neighborhood caucuses to represent their precincts — traditionally lean more conservative than the general Republican electorate, and often reward candidates who eschew signature gathering in favor of appealing to the convention crowd. Candidates who win at convention aren’t guaranteed to win during the primary — and the statewide electorate can lean toward more moderate options — but convention winners often represent the base of the GOP.

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