SALT LAKE CITY — (AP) — A conservative Utah State Board of Education member who faced calls to resign after lawmakers said she bullied a student on social media lost her nomination for reelection Saturday.
Natalie Cline needed at least 40% of the delegate votes at the Salt Lake County Republican Convention, but she fell short of that threshold Saturday. She faced Jordan School District administrator Amanda Bollinger, who won sufficient support to become the party nominee in that school board race.
Unlike Bollinger, Cline did not gather voter signatures — a backdoor path to appear on Utah’s primary ballot in June if a candidate doesn’t win their party’s nomination. The deadline to collect signatures has passed.
Cline had faced backlash from Republicans and Democrats after her social media post questioning the gender of a high school basketball player prompted threats against the girl. Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said Cline’s actions embarrassed the state, and the Legislature formally censuredher but allowed her to stay …