Former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney finished second at the Utah Republican Convention on Saturday behind State Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-Alpine).

Romney and Kennedy will now face each other in a primary election, because neither Romney (49.12%) nor Kennedy (50.88%) reached the 60% threshold necessary to secure the party’s nomination automatically.

Kennedy celebrated his win on Twitter, while Romney put a brave face on defeat:

Thank you so much to all of the delegates for your votes today. I look forward to winning the support from voters across the state in the primary on June 26. Now let's go clean up Washington! #KennedyForUtah #utpol #UTGOP pic.twitter.com/nd04XHIB2j — Dr. Mike Kennedy (@KennedyForUtah) April 22, 2018

Thank you to all the delegates who hung in there with us all day at the Convention. I appreciate the support I received and look forward to the primary election. — Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) April 22, 2018

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