Utah Governor Gary Herbert will select one of three GOP candidates to become the states next Attorney General. The state republican central committee met over the weekend and has forwarded the names of Sean Reyes, Robert Smith and Brian Tarbet.
UPR's Kerry Bringhurst has been following the Utah Democratic Party's response to the process of selecting Utah's top law enforcer.
As soon as John Swallow announced he would resign as Utah's Attorney General, Utah democrats began pushing for a replacement process that state party chairman Jim Dabakis said would involve candidates who "are outside the business as usual politics of capitol hill."
The democratic party dedicated a webpage to Utahns, giving them the opportunity to nominate candidateswho Dabakis said have broad respect in the community, and are as diverse as the people of Utah.
"What we wanted to show was what would happen if the people of Utah were able to actually pick the next interim Attorney General and the difference that there would be," Dabakis said.
There were 276 responses 72 hours. The public's recommendation for candidates to be included in the next AG search are Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham and former LDS church historian Marlin Jensen.
"Interestingly, even on the democratic website, Sen. Lyle Hillyard (R-Cache County) got some, who I think would make a magnificent interim Attorney General. We also had Peter Caroon, the former mayor of Salt Lake County. There have been a lot people who are out of the fray," Dabakis said.
Governor Herbert will interview the three official candidates, Sean Reyes, Robert Smith and Bryan Tarbert. He's expected to name Utah's next Attorney General before the Christmas holiday.