In deep red Utah, fewer seats go uncontested
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Utah Democrats are fielding far more candidates than usual in Tuesday's legislative elections, hoping to make inroads in districts where Republicans typically win by large margins.
Why it matters: While Democrats may be unlikely to win seats long held by uncontested Republicans, organizing a campaign could lay the groundwork for future elections.
- It could also help generate pockets of momentum for up-ballot candidates in more competitive races.
By the numbers: Democrats are running in all but 12 of the Legislature's 90 races.
- That's fewer than half the seats the party left unchallenged in almost every election since 2016.
- In two of Tuesday's no-D races, the Republican is instead running against a candidate from the center-right Utah Forward Party.
What they're saying: "There's been a big difference in terms of our ability to field really high-quality candidates," said former state Rep. Brian King, chair of the Utah Democrats.
- Candidates were motivated by "everything from data centers to union busting to [lawmakers] trying to gut people's power to do referendum and initiatives," King said.
Catch up quick: The party focused on recruiting during the last few months of 2025, King said.
- Around that time, progressives in Republican strongholds were leveraging connections made at No Kings rallies around the state to drive party organizing.
Flashback: The only recent year with anything close to today's level of Democrat participation was 2018 — the midterm during President Trump's first administration. That year, Dems sat out 18 statehouse races.
The intrigue: By contrast, the D column was empty in nearly half of the state House and Senate races in 2022 — the party's biggest absence in recent memory.
Between the lines: That was the year an intraparty feud broke out after convention delegates jettisoned their own U.S. Senate candidate in favor of independent Evan McMullin in hopes of winning over swing voters against Republican Mike Lee.