The Lyman drama in the Utah gubernatorial race has reached the courts — and now Phil Lyman is the only candidate with that last name in the race.

Richard Kennedy Lyman and his mother, Carol Lyman, on Thursday withdrew her own written candidacy for governor and lieutenant governor amid a suit by Phil Lyman, who claimed her campaign amounted to a “conspiracy” to interfere in the election.

It's another twist in a bitter race to be Utah's next governor, as Rep. Phil Lyman – the Republican challenger to Gov. Spencer Cox lost in the primary by almost 9 percentage points – is continuing his bid in a long-term write-in campaign as an independent candidate. Cox, who is also running against Democrat Brian King and three third-party candidates, is the expected front-runner in a state that hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1980.

In a lawsuit filed Oct. 16, Phil Lyman accused Richard and Carol Lyman of submitting their own write-in candidacies “to cause confusion among voters and undermine (Phil Lyman's) legitimate campaign efforts.” The lawsuit sought at least $1.7 million – the total cost of Phil Lyman's campaign to date – plus legal fees.

Richard and Carol's write-in campaign angered Phil Lyman's supporters because it complicated Phil Lyman's write-in bid by requiring his supporters to indicate on their ballots which Lyman they planned to vote for.

In early September, Phil Lyman claimed he received text messages from “two individuals providing information that Richard Lyman was recruited and paid by the Cox campaign,” his campaign wrote in an email to supporters. “Richard told one of these people that the Cox campaign had contacted him and offered to pay him $1,000 and a steak dinner to run for governor.”

Cox's campaign has dismissed Phil Lyman's claims as “patently false.” Richard and Carol Lyman also disputed claims that they were paid to file their campaigns, telling the Deseret News that they were running to “make a statement” and expressed frustration with the “negativity” of Phil Lyman’s campaign.

In one opinion Richard and Carol Lyman announced Friday through their attorney that they had withdrawn from the race with “deep sadness.” They disputed Phil Lyman's claims in the lawsuit and accused him of forcing them out of the election.

“Before we even filed our candidacy, there was already a plan to push us out of the race,” said Carol and Richard Lyman. “This plan culminated in a frivolous lawsuit that we simply cannot afford to fight. The allegations in this lawsuit are false and we want to make it abundantly clear that we have done nothing wrong or broken any laws. We have every right to run for governor and lieutenant governor and should not have been driven out by people with deeper pockets.”

The Utah Supreme Court rejects Lyman's request to overturn the election results

Richard and Carol Lyman's lawyer said Carol “suffered an unexpected fractured femur just days after knee surgery on the same leg, making it even more difficult to get her campaign off the ground.” Additionally, he said Richard Lyman had ” political ambitions since his childhood”.

“He wanted to bring attention to issues like homelessness, addiction and mental health. “He hoped to inspire Utahns to realize that people who have experienced these struggles can overcome them and even run for governor one day,” her attorney said.

Phil Lyman asked a 3rd District Court judge to disqualify the candidacies of Richard and Carol Lyman and also sought a preliminary injunction, saying their sole purpose was to “confuse voters and create ambiguity for county officials when counting votes.” in the election, resulting in the rejection of otherwise viable candidates.” Vote for (Phil) Lyman.”

On Thursday, however, all three Lymans agreed to one Determination to clarify the matter if both Richard and Carol Lyman withdrew their candidacies and that “any vote for 'Lyman' for governor in the general election will be construed as a vote for Phil Lyman.”

On Friday, a judge agreed to that provision, giving them until Nov. 30 to resolve all remaining issues in the case.