OGDEN — The race for the District 10 seat in the Utah House has taken a twist. One of the former Republican hopefuls for the post, Lorraine Brown, is endorsing the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Rosemary Lesser.

Jill Koford, who defeated Brown in the Republican primary last June, is the GOP candidate for the Weber County post heading to the Nov. 8 general election.

Parallel to her decision to back Lesser, Brown has stepped away from Weber County Republican Women, an organization meant to empower female conservatives of which she was a member and president. Brown — who’s been vocal in her opposition to GOP rules governing candidate selection that differentiate between those who seek a ballot spot via convention and those who seek a spot via petition — was pushed out as secretary of the Weber County Republican Party last October.

The situation with the Republican women’s group came to a head after Brown placed a Lesser campaign sign in her yard, Brown said in a Facebook post last week. The race for the District 10 seat is shaping up to be a heated one, with the Weber County Republican Party pushing hard to put a GOPer in the post. Lesser is the only Democrat holding a legislative seat outside Salt Lake County.

“I was asked to remove the sign. I declined. Simply put, if my only choice is between leadership of WCRW and free speech, free speech wins every time. So, WCRW now has no leader,” wrote Brown, an Ogden lawyer. In subsequent comments to the Standard-Examiner, she also offered cautionary words about the Republican Party in light of the political rise of former President Donald Trump.

Debbie Williams, who has become acting president of Weber County Republican Women, described Brown’s departure as amicable.

“Not forced out. I think she felt it would be better for her to step down,” Williams said. “Because you’re a member of the committee, you’re supposed to endorse Republican candidates. If you don’t, you’re asked to leave the committee.”

The bylaws of the group, however, use blunt language in addressing such instances. “Any member who fails to support Republican candidates, who advocates a split ticket or supports a candidate running on an opposing ticket shall be expelled from membership,” reads the bylaws.

It’s not the first time Brown has been at odds with others in the Republican Party.

She was forced from her post in the county party, she said, after pushing for change in bylaws governing how candidates for office are picked, a heated issue among GOPers across Utah. Weber County Republicans who go the signature-gathering route to secure a ballot spot, allowed under state law, face a higher vote threshold to get the party’s nod at convention than those who try solely via convention, which Brown thinks is unfair.

In endorsing Lesser, Brown noted that she’s known the Democratic hopeful for nearly 30 years. Lesser, a retired obstetrician, delivered Brown’s four youngest sons. The District 10 seat covers southern Ogden, part of South Ogden, northern Riverdale and northern Washington Terrace.

“Beyond the personal connection, I am supporting Rosemary because I think she is hands-down the most qualified candidate in the race in terms of integrity, intellect, experience and demeanor,” Brown said. “I also believe she is the candidate most likely to work with me to introduce the legislation that Utah’s families need!”

Lesser, appointed to the District 10 spot in early 2021 to finish out the term of Rep. Lou Shurtliff after Shurtliff’s unexpected death in late 2020, said she’s “grateful” for Brown’s backing. Free-speech rights are at the center of the issue. Any voter should be able to back the candidate of their choosing “regardless of party affiliation,” Lesser said.

Carly Cassidy, chairperson of the Weber County Democratic Party, expressed delight. Keeping Lesser in the post is one of the key priorities of the party this election season. “I think it’s great whenever a former Republican candidate gives a Democrat her endorsement,” Cassidy said.

Koford didn’t respond to a query seeking comment. Jake Sawyer, chairperson of the Weber County Republican Party, said it’s Brown’s perogative to back the candidate of her choosing.

“As a citizen, you can back whoever you want to back. That doesn’t faze me a bit,” he said. Brown’s endorsement of Lesser “doesn’t affect her standing in the party by any means.”

Still, some GOPers in Utah and the rest of the country are leery of other Republicans they deem insufficiently conservative, derisively calling them RINOs, or “Republicans in name only.” Brown, for her part, said more voters should be willing to look beyond party affiliation when casting a ballot.

Judgements on candidates “will vary voter to voter, but the inquiry must run deeper than party affiliation or the election process (which is vital to our democracy) is abbreviated and superficial,” Brown said in an email to the Standard-Examiner.

She also cautioned against straight-ticket voting by adherents of either major party.

“Party labels do not reflect reality (if they ever did) and increasingly pose a threat to our democracy when well-meaning voters elect Republicans who do not believe in the rule or law or respect the Constitution.  Simply put, not all Republicans are great candidates and not all great candidates are Republicans,” Brown said.

More broadly she described the Republican Party as “a house divided,” referencing Trump.

“The Republican Party has changed fundamentally with the rise of Donald Trump and has emboldened a new brand of Republicans that put personality above principle, conspiracy theories above truth and expediency above the rule of law. To the extent that a Republican candidate identifies with or is supported by this extreme element within the party, rational Republicans may need to reject such a Republican candidate on principle,” Brown said.

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