SALT LAKE CITY — A surprising push to abolish the death penalty in deep-red Utah ran out of steam, as the Republican lawmaker shepherding the measure said he didn’t have enough votes to pass it before a midnight deadline.

The proposal won enough support in the GOP-dominated Legislature to be one debate and vote away from final passage, a surprising turnaround from lawmakers’ vote a year ago to revive the use of firing squads in executions if lethal drugs are unavailable.

“I think that people ruled us out at every step and we kept progressing,” said state Sen. Steve Urquhart, the Republican pushing to end capital punishment.

Unable to secure enough votes, Urquhart abandoned the push Thursday after briefly shopping the idea of a moratorium instead.

The lawmaker told The Associated Press he came very close to securing a majority of votes from the 75 members of the House of Representatives.