MURRAY, Utah — Natalie Cline, a controversial member of the Utah State School Board who became the first state elected official to be censured by the legislature, lost her re-election bid at the Salt Lake County Republican Party convention on Saturday.
Cline failed to advance on a vote of 123 delegates (37%) to challenger Amanda Bollinger's 211 (63%). That means that Bollinger will be the Republican nominee for the school board seat.
"We know parents and our delegates are making a statement that our goal is to protect our children, and that we want to make sure that they are safe in schools and that those of us that are their leaders are also prioritizing the safety of our students," Bollinger said shortly after her victory.
Cheri Ford was one of the Salt Lake County GOP delegates who voted for Bollinger.
"I feel like, unfortunately, I can't support someone that bullies students, and it was really unfortunate," she said.
Cline generated a firestorm of controversy when she attacked a student, insinuating the young athlete may be transgender in a social media post (the girl is not). It led to the child receiving death threats. Cline did apologize for the "negative attention" the post drew. Public records obtained by FOX 13 News found that within the first 48 hours of the Facebook post, the Utah State Board of Education logged more than 350 complaints about Cline.
Cline's action, one in a long line of controversial social media posts by the outspoken social conservative, brought near-universal condemnation from Utah political leaders. The governor, House Speaker and school boards called for her to resign from office.
She refused.
The Utah State Legislature voted overwhelmingly to censure Cline, but stopped short of impeaching her. Her colleagues on the Utah State School Board stripped her of her duties.
Still, Cline sought re-election.
"My concern is again for the kids and the things that are being brought into the schools, the practices, policies, the pedagogies that are being used, the curriculums that are embedded with divisive ideologies," said Cline at a Friday night candidate meet-and-greet. "I want parents to be able to trust public education again and I'm very concerned about safety of our students and making sure we still have parental involvement. But ultimately, I want to have a quality education where students have the skills and abilities they need to be successful in the future."
Under Utah law, political candidates can go through the caucus-convention system, gather signatures or both to qualify for a spot on the primary ballot. Bollinger gathered enough signatures, earning a place on the June GOP primary ballot before Saturday's convention even began.
Cline took her chances with the GOP delegates, and the deadline to gather signatures has passed.
This is a breaking news story. Updates on FOX 13 News as information becomes available.
