Republican Rep. John Curtis appears poised to be Utah’s next senator after Tuesday night’s primary victory against right-wing candidate Trent Staggs.
After a projected primary victory, Curtis now heads into a general election in November in which he should advance to victory: Former President Donald Trump won the state in 2020 by more than 20 points.
Despite having Trump’s weight behind him, Staggs failed to pull off a victory Tuesday in a blow to the former president’s record.
Staggs was once tapped to lead a company that was shut down after the FDA alleged it had falsely marketed its “natural” Viagra product, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed.
A Curtis victory guarantees that Utah’s Senate seat will look more like that of Republican Senator Mitt Romney than a “Trumpy” leader.
Despite having Trump’s weight behind him, Staggs failed to pull off a victory Tuesday in a blow to the former president’s record.
Romney governed with a seemingly passé approach of reducing the national debt, shrinking government and supporting foreign allies.
Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, has long been at odds with Trump.
DailyMail.com previously reported that Staggs, a member of the Mormon church, was once tapped to run a company that was shut down after the FDA alleged it had falsely marketed its “natural” product Viagra.
Staggs has called himself a “classic Utah success story,” and his website notes that he has “over 20 years of experience successfully leading and managing Fortune 500 companies down to small and mid-sized businesses.”
But Staggs took over as president of the soon-to-be defunct Regeneca company in 2015.
The company was forced to recall its erectile dysfunction drug, RegenErect, three years earlier, after the FDA alleged that the so-called “natural” product contained undisclosed regular Cialis and Viagra, potentially putting users at risk of fatal health complications.
U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks during Utah Senate primary debate
Staggs took over as president of the soon-to-be defunct Regeneca company in 2015.
The FDA also alleged that the company’s weight loss supplement that was marketed as “all natural” was actually just amphetamine, a stimulant drug.
Staggs said he was not the leader of the company when it was selling the erectile dysfunction drug and that he had been brought in to turn things around.
‘All of these issues, which preceded my arrival, are exactly the reason I was brought into the company as interim president. The owners needed someone to assess the business and see if there was a way forward,’ he told DailyMail.com in a statement.