The United Utah Party celebrates today’s historic decision from the Utah Supreme Court in the case of League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature.

We believe today’s ruling is significant for two important reasons. First, it allows the continuation of the lawsuit that is at the forefront of fighting Utah’s gerrymandered voting districts. Second, it will protect future voter passed initiatives from being overruled by the legislature. Today’s decision means that Utah citizens have regained their voice in government.

The conviction of former President Donald Trump brought predictable responses from the two major parties.  Republicans claim that the trial and our entire justice system are “shams,”[1] but of course the justice system is not a sham to Republicans when the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court (that they engineered by denying a hearing to President Obama’s nominee) rules in their favor.  Democrats are gleefully plotting how they can use this conviction to campaign against their arch nemesis[2] while glossing over the fact that the prosecuting attorney appears to have campaigned for election on the idea that he would prosecute Donald Trump[3] and used novel legal theories to raise the charges from misdemeanors to felonies[4].  Recent rhetoric from both parties, and particularly from prominent Republicans under former President Trump's influence, has been to undermine the historic and sacred institutions that form the bedrock of our democracy - a fair and impartial judicial system, free and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power. 

The United Utah Party is thrilled to have Michelle Quist running as our candidate for Attorney General! Her resume is second to none. Michelle recently published an article in the Deseret News explaining why Utah needs an Attorney General who is not tied to the major political parties. Click here to read it.

Click here to see Ladd Johnson, Party chair, explaining to Brien McElhatten what the United Utah Party stands for, and the challenges and opportunities we face.

The preamble of the United Utah Party platform reads, in part, “This platform is a statement of the principles that unite us, not necessarily an enumeration of policy positions.” As a party, our goal has always been to bring people together in “good will and good faith.” Our platform should serve that same purpose.

Thank you to all of the Uniters and friends who helped us make the 2024 United Utah Caucus so successful. Between our virtual caucus and our eight in-person locations, we had hundreds of people join us to learn more about how we can work together to promote positive change in Utah politics.

This coming year is likely to be a growth year for the United Utah Party as we expect to welcome a large number of new party members that are looking for a change. Those in power know this, they don't like being held accountable, and they would love for our party to fail, but each year we keep coming back stronger. This year, however, our political opponents in positions of power have found a new way to attack small parties, including the UUP, threatening our ballot access and our ability to run candidates. We need your help to make sure that they do not succeed!

Friend,

In February 2022, I filed to run as the United Utah Party candidate for Utah Senate 28, a sprawling district that covers all of Iron and Beaver Counties, as well as parts of Juab, Millard, and Washington Counties. There are a lot of reasons that I made that decision. But for the purposes of today, I want to share three things I learned from the experience. 

It’s time to start preparing for your 2024 candidacy!

Last month I called for Uniters to start thinking about and preparing to be candidates in 2024. Today I especially want to encourage our Women Uniters to give serious thought to being a candidate.

Women make up half the population of Utah and yet only make up less than 25% of elected officials in the State of Utah. The United Utah Party stands for fair and equal representation in government and we would love to see more women candidates and elected officials to provide more proportionate representation of our population. We have a ways to go as a State—but things can only improve if more women are willing to step-up and let their voices be heard.