New Utah House member faces divided Congress, re-election

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican John Curtis became Utah's newest member of Congress by easily winning a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz in a heavily GOP district.

Now comes the hard part.

Curtis, mayor of the Mormon stronghold of Provo, will have to immediately learn the ropes of a divided Congress searching for a legislative victory while he maps out a way to win the seat again next year.

Curtis was elected to fill only the final year of Chaffetz's term. He's expected to be sworn in quickly as Republicans controlling the U.S. House hope to tackle an ambitious agenda before year's end.