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.

The United Utah Party nominated January Walker as the party's candidate for CD2 at a special nominating convention on June 27th. "We're thrilled to have January as our nominee. She's a great candidate, has already organized a great campaign team, and will be able to hit the ground running" said Ladd Johnson, United Utah Party Chair.

Today the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that state legislatures do not have unchecked authority to control elections and that state supreme courts have the authority to overturn congressional districting plans for being overly partisan.

The United Utah Party elected new party leadership at its State Convention on April 29th. "This is an exciting time for the UUP and the moderate movement in Utah, and we're grateful for the chance to help build even more momentum going forward," says Ladd Johnson, new party chair.

Politics can be discouraging, but the alternative is to give up and, as passionate moderates, that’s just not an option for us. Persistence is woven into Utah’s social fabric, and we’re good at playing the long game.

It can work both ways. In 2018, four initiatives made it to the ballot and three passed; in the intervening years, the legislature has gutted each one. In 2019, the legislature passed an unpopular tax reform bill in a December special session that was repealed under threat of referendum. The legislature passed it piecemeal instead.

Every election year, the UUP does a professional survey. We do this for several reasons: to learn more about which issues are important to voters, to help inform our candidates’ campaigns, and to track how awareness about the UUP has changed over time. I’d like to share some interesting results with you.

Last week, a leaked draft opinion indicated that the Supreme Court is inclined to overturn Roe v. Wade. To be clear, this is a draft opinion from February, not the final opinion of the court. Positions and reasoning can and do change, and so I don’t want to devote too much ink to something that is admittedly incomplete.

Former Senator Orrin Hatch has passed away at the age of 88. The United Utah Party appreciates his long career of civic service. "Senator Hatch was a wonderful example of dedicated service to his state and nation,” says Hillary Stirling, United Utah Party Chair.

Sen. Mitt Romney and Gov. Spencer Cox did not attend today's Republican Party Convention. "After being booed down last year, it’s no surprise they didn’t attend, and now Lt. Gov. Henderson has also been subjected to similar treatment," said Hillary Stirling, United Utah Party Chair. “All three would have found a much warmer welcome at our state convention last week.”

Democratic Party delegates took the unprecedented step today of forgoing nomination of their own candidate in favor of endorsing Evan McMullin for US Senate. "We applaud the courage and wisdom of the Democratic Party in setting aside party loyalty and putting the needs of Utah first," said Hillary Stirling, United Utah Party Chair.

Thank you to everyone who participated at our state convention last Saturday! It was good to meet together in person again, and we are grateful for the technology that allowed so many to join and participate remotely, too. The pandemic has stretched us individually and as a party, and being able to be even more inclusive is one of its few silver linings.

The Utah Party held its state nominating convention this Saturday. “This is the third time we're fielding candidates in regular elections, and we're excited to have such a solid slate. The opportunity to also vote on endorsing Evan McMullin only added to that excitement,” said Hillary Stirling, chair of the United Utah Party.

Between the omicron variant, the disarray caused by redistricting, and an abruptly-shortened candidate recruiting season, we took a brief hiatus with the newsletter. But the good news is that we’re back and with a bang!

Businesswoman and cybersecurity professional January Walker announced today that she will run for U.S. House of Representatives in the 4th Congressional District with the United Utah Party. “Utah is the youngest state in the nation and deserves to have a seat at the table that’s representative of them in both age and technological expertise,” says January.

Checking the headlines lately has left me feeling saddened and even frustrated. Yes, we are in extraordinary times, but on the other hand, there has always been bad news. What matters is how we respond to it.

The United Utah Party supports a balanced approach to America’s infrastructure crisis. The $3.5
trillion infrastructure bill pushed by some Congressional Democrats is problematic, given our
country’s budget deficit and ballooning national debt. Maintaining our physical infrastructure
and implementing broadband are essential for modernizing the American economy. However,
the social programs included in this bill are not something that all Americans agree that we can
afford right now.