A teenager running for mayor in a small U.S. city said he never intended to go through with a plot to blow up his school that landed him in juvenile detention for half a year.

Joshua Kyler Hoggan, 18, competes in Tuesday's primary against a councilman and the current mayor of Roy, a city of about 37,000 people in Utah. Two of the three will advance to the general election. Most consider Hoggan a long shot.

Hoggan told The Associated Press in an email that he recognizes what he did was wrong. But he insists that he never had any explosives or intent to bomb the school.

Hoggan served six months in juvenile detention after pleading guilty in 2012 to possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He says he's rehabilitated and ready to lead the city.

"People should trust me because I have proven one thing: That I am human," Hoggan said in the email. "I have made mistakes, just like the rest of us."

Police said that Hoggan, then 16, and an older classmate spent months plotting an attack inspired by the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine, a high school in Colorado state. Hoggan even visited the Columbine principal about the shootings and security measures.

Their plan included a detailed plot, school blueprints and a plan to fly away after the bombing, said investigators, who never found a bomb.

A classmate told authorities after receiving text messages from Hoggan, who bragged that he planned to steal a plane from a nearby airport. The boy had logged hundreds of hours on a flight simulator program to prepare.

The older classmate, Dallin Morgan, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and was given a 105-day jail sentence.

Roy Mayor Joe Ritchie said Hoggan has every right to be on the ballot, but he questions his motives and whether he's truly rehabilitated. He said many in Roy are still shaken by the bombing plan and are perplexed why he's in the race.

"I'm not so sure how sincere he is," said Ritchie, who has never met Hoggan. "I think he's in it for the notoriety."

Asked if he thinks Hoggan has a chance to win, Ritchie said, "I sure hope not."

But Hoggan likes his chances. He just completed his first semester of university, where he is studying political science.

Hoggan said he had been misguided. His meeting with the Columbine principal was for research for an article about school security for his school newspaper, he said. Roy High School officials knew about the meeting, he said.

"Many people still have serious questions about me that need answered," Hoggan wrote in the email. "I think that, if nothing else, the citizens of Roy City used a valuable opportunity to have their concerns addressed."

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