John Knotwell
John Knotwell (Republican Party) is running for election to the Utah State Senate to represent District 11. Knotwell declared candidacy for the Republican convention scheduled on April 25, 2026.[source]
Knotwell (Republican Party) was a member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing District 52. Knotwell assumed office on January 1, 2013. Knotwell left office on October 26, 2019.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Knotwell was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Business and Labor |
| • Transportation |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Knotwell served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Business and Labor, Vice-Chair |
| • Revenue and Taxation |
| • Rules |
| • Legislative Information Technology Steering |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Knotwell served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Revenue and Taxation |
| • Transportation |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2026
See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 23, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for Utah State Senate District 11
Mackenzie Miller (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Utah State Senate District 11 on June 23, 2026.
Candidate | ||
Mackenzie Miller  | ||
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Republican primary
Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 11
Chris Sloan (R) is running in the Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 11 on June 23, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Chris Sloan | ||
| ||||
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Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 11
Mackenzie Miller (D) is running in the Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 11 on April 25, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Mackenzie Miller | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican convention
Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 11
Brooks Benson (R), John Knotwell (R), and Chris Sloan (R) are running in the Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 11 on April 25, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Brooks Benson | ||
 | John Knotwell | |
| Chris Sloan | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Utah Forward Party convention
Utah Forward convention for Utah State Senate District 11
Incumbent Emily Buss (Utah Forward Party) is running in the Utah Forward Party convention for Utah State Senate District 11 on April 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Emily Buss | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2018
General election
General election for Utah House of Representatives District 52
Incumbent John Knotwell defeated Dan McClellan in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 52 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Knotwell (R) | 66.5 | 12,640 |
 | Dan McClellan (D) | 33.5 | 6,370 | |
| Total votes: 19,010 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2016
Elections for the Utah House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 17, 2016.
Incumbent John Knotwell defeated Garr K. Smith in the Utah House of Representatives District 52 general election.[1]
| Utah House of Representatives, District 52 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  John Knotwell Incumbent |
74.67% | 13,020 | |
| Democratic | Garr K. Smith | 25.33% | 4,417 | |
| Total Votes | 17,437 | |||
| Source: Utah Secretary of State | ||||
Garr K. Smith ran unopposed in the Utah House of Representatives District 52 Democratic primary.[2][3]
| Utah House of Representatives District 52, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Garr K. Smith (unopposed) | |
Incumbent John Knotwell ran unopposed in the Utah House of Representatives District 52 Republican primary.[2][3]
| Utah House of Representatives District 52, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | John Knotwell Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Utah House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 20, 2014. Daniel Paget was unopposed in the Democratic convention. Incumbent John Knotwell was unopposed in the Republican convention. Knotwell defeated Paget in the general election.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Knotwell Incumbent |
76.5% | 6,055 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Paget | 23.5% | 1,865 | |
| Total Votes | 7,920 | |||
2012
Knotwell won election in the 2012 election for Utah House of Representatives District 52. Knotwell advanced past the Republican convention and won election in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Knotwell |
73.6% | 9,928 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Paget | 21.9% | 2,958 | |
| Independent | Aaron Davis | 4.5% | 601 | |
| Total Votes | 13,487 | |||
Campaign themes
2012
Knotwell's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[6]
| “ |
Accountability/Transparency
Keep Utah Strong
Maintain Fiscal Discipline
Education
Transportation
|
” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Utah scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2019
In 2019, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 28 through March 14.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills the Alliance for a Better Utah supported.
- Legislators are scored based on the organization's mission of "promoting the principles of limited government, constitution, representative government, participatory republic, free market economy, family, and separation of powers."
- Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise."
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes relating to environmental and conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 22 through March 8.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 23 through March 9. There was also a special session on September 20.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 25 through March 10.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 26 through March 12.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 60th Utah State Legislature, second year, was in session from January 27 to March 14.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 60th Utah State Legislature, first year, was in session from January 28 to March 14.
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The Libertas Institute Index
The Libertas Institute is a libertarian-leaning think tank located in Utah.[11] Each year the organization releases a Legislative Index for Utah State Representatives and Senators.
2013
Stuart Adams received an index rating of 86%.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Utah Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Utah.gov, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed March 23, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Utah.gov, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed August 20, 2016
- ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor, "2014 Candidate Filings," accessed March 22, 2014
- ↑ Lieutenant Governor's Office, "Utah 2012 candidate filings," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ johnknotwell, "Official Campaign Website," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ GrassRoots, "2015 Legislative Report," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Utah Legislative Ratings, "UTAH HOUSE Scorecard - Compiled 2015 Conservative Liberal Index," May 19, 2015
- ↑ GrassRoots, "2015 Legislative Report," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ Libertas Institute, "Legislator Indexes," accessed January 21, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Utah House of Representatives District 52 2013-2019 |
Succeeded by Candice Pierucci |
