Republican Gov. Gary Herbert is dropping his support of Common Core education standards as he faces a re-election fight for his party's nomination.
Herbert said in a letter to the State Board of Education Wednesday that he shares the concerns of Common Core opponents and instead wants new, Utah-specific standards.
Herbert's re-election bid suffered a setback last month when he failed to secure the Republican Party's nomination at the state GOP convention. Instead, several thousand core party members favored Overstock.com executive Jonathan Johnson, who hammered the governor over Common Core.
Herbert and Johnson will now compete in a June primary election.
The governor's office did not respond to questions about the letter and timing of the announcement but his campaign manager says the action was taken now because of a recent federal education law giving states more flexibility.