Ammon Gruwell

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ammon Gruwell

United Utah Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Personal

Birthplace

Provo, Utah

Profession

Electrical engineer

Contact

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Ammon Gruwell (United Utah Party) ran for election to the Utah House of Representatives to represent District 15. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Gruwell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ammon Gruwell was born in Provo, Utah. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Brigham Young University in 2015 and in 2017, respectively. Gruwell's career experience includes working as an electrical engineer.

Elections

2022

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 15

Incumbent Brad R. Wilson defeated Ammon Gruwell in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 15 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad R. Wilson (R)	77.7	10,934
		Ammon Gruwell (United Utah Party)	22.3	3,147

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,081
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brad R. Wilson advanced from the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 15.

United Utah Party primary election

The United Utah Party primary election was canceled. Ammon Gruwell advanced from the United Utah Party primary for Utah House of Representatives District 15.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 15

Incumbent Brad R. Wilson defeated Jason Hackett in the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 15 on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Brad R. Wilson (R)
	Submit photo	Jason Hackett (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeffrey Young (R)

United Utah Party convention

United Utah Party convention for Utah House of Representatives District 15

Ammon Gruwell advanced from the United Utah Party convention for Utah House of Representatives District 15 on April 12, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Ammon Gruwell (United Utah Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 15

Incumbent Brad R. Wilson defeated Ammon Gruwell in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 15 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brad R. Wilson (R)	77.2	17,965
		Ammon Gruwell (United Utah Party)	22.8	5,301

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,266
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 15

Incumbent Brad R. Wilson advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 15 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Brad R. Wilson (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ammon Gruwell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gruwell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a native Utahn, an Engineering Manager, and a proud husband and father of four boys. I currently serve as the Davis County Chair of the United Utah Party and the Vice President of Utah Approves, a non-partisan 501c4 focused on promoting Approval Voting, ending gerrymandering, and enacting public campaign financing. I have been working for years with election officials at the city, county, and state level to help improve representation here in the state. I'm deeply committed to ensuring every person has an equal voice, and reducing the power of big corporate interests compared to real people. Besides my passion for better government, I also enjoy distance running, listening to audio books, and spending time with my kids.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We need to preserve the Great Salt Lake. Just to keep the lake level from dropping any further, we need to reduce water consumption in Utah by 30%. Incremental change will not be enough. Not only is an entire ecosystem of endangered wildlife at risk of collapse, but the Wasatch Front could potentially become unlivable due to toxic dust clouds high in arsenic coming off the dry lakebed. We need to stop subsidizing water costs, and dramatically increase costs for big water users. This is our children's and grandchildren's future home that is at stake.
• We need to reduce political corruption. Although most politicians run for office to make a difference, they work within a corrupt system. In Utah there are no campaign donation limits for state candidates, and over 80% of donations to state candidates come from big special interests. We need to limit what corporate PACs can spend, and amplify the voices of regular people. We can do this by giving every voter $10-20 vouchers to give to candidates of their choice. These candidates can then redeem these vouchers from a state fund. With this reform, the interests of voters would vastly outweigh the interests of big special interests.
• We need to make representation more fair. Right now under our winner-take-all system, majority parties take most or all of the seats. This isn't fair for the people not being adequately represented. Most western countries use a system called proportional representation that's really simple: if you win 15% of the vote, you get 15% of the seats. All it takes is electing multiple representatives from each district. This will end gerrymandering, make every vote count, and restore faith in our elections.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ballot Reform (approval voting, proportional representation), Campaign Finance Reform (contribution limits, public campaign funding), Preserving the Great Salt Lake, Cleaning up our air, getting to carbon zero, moving to green energy, Medicare for All, increased education funding & investment in STEM, preserving early term reproductive rights, protecting rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, reducing gun violence

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released April 10, 2020

Ammon Gruwell completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gruwell's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a native Utahn and graduate of Brigham Young University. Although I have lived for brief periods around the country and abroad, after graduation from BYU I and my wife fell in love with Davis County and decided to put down roots in south-west Layton. I now work as an Electrical Engineer for L3Harris Technologies in Salt Lake City.

As the son of a history-loving father and a politically involved mother, I became interested in political issues from a young age. The 2016 presidential election was an especially defining moment for me as I found myself politically homeless with both major parties nominating unpopular, polarizing candidates. I realized that fixing our broken political system would require systematic reforms. I have been involved in various political causes for the last decade including Evan McMullin's 2016 campaign, RepresentUs, Stand Up Republic, and efforts to implement Ranked Choice Voting and Independent Redistricting in Utah. I have previously been a member of both major political parties, but energetically embraced the United Utah Party when it came on the scene in 2017 and am proud to advance its cause.

Though I've worked hard for various causes, I became discouraged with the difficulty that individuals have in making their voices heard at the State Capitol, and decided it was time to run for public office. Besides my passion for politics, I also enjoy distance running, reading good books, and playing with my three sons.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I will be a voice of reason and moderation in this time of toxic political polarization.
• I will advocate for science-based policy making and reforms.
• I will be responsive to my constituents, and take pride in my ability to change my mind when presented with a compelling argument.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We face many urgent political issues such as improving education and air quality, providing more affordable housing, and making healthcare more affordable; however, I believe none of these issues have a good chance of being resolved as long as our political system remains so fractured and gridlocked. As things currently are, politicians are heavily influence by rich donors and special interest groups, and are only accountable to their extreme right or left wing bases. They are incentivized to stoke anger instead of encouraging bipartisan compromise. The first thing we need to fix is government itself, but realigning incentives to the will of the people. We need to implement reforms such as campaign finance limits, ranked-choice voting, automatic voter registration, independent redistricting, term limits, restrictions on lobbying, open primaries, and fewer partisan elections. These reforms would return political power to the people, and bring more reasonable voices into government. This would break the gridlock and incentivize the bipartisan cooperation that we'll need to solve the many problems Utah will face in the coming years.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I recently read a powerful biography of Abraham Lincoln called Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It vividly portrays his devotion to moral principle, his ability to bring together warring political factions, and his self-discipline in never speaking in anger. He rose to prominence through his ability to eloquently advocate for the common humanity shared by both black and white without offending those who differed in opinion. He defied the two-party duopoly of his day by helping to lift the nascent Republican party out of obscurity and into the White House. His excellent moral character was an example to all Americans, and is something that is desperately lacking in many politicians at the highest levels of the government today. I hope to follow his example of inspiring leadership based on the common humanity of all people.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

A book that eloquently captures much of my political philosophy is The Centrist Manifesto by Charles Wheelan. It refutes the idea that centrism is a lukewarm middle ground on the political spectrum that doesn't believe in anything. Rather, it is the synthesis of good ideas from both traditional parties that results in the best outcomes for the most people. For example, the Democratic Party recognizes society's duty to help the poor and underprivileged and knows that good government is required for a healthy and sustainable economy. Similarly, the Republican Party recognizes the importance of free markets, free trade, and the social bonds and norms that hold society together. I believe the best policies are those that are developed by a diverse coalition of stakeholders that take into consideration the interests of everyone and are based on sound science.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am not an ideologue, but rather someone that seeks to find truth wherever it may be found. I believe in basing policy on sound science and bipartisan consensus, and take pride in my ability to change my mind when presented with a compelling argument. I look for the good in others and find that I learn something new from everyone that I meet. Finally, I believe that honesty and good moral character are absolute requirements for anyone seeking to represent the public interest, and I hope to prove myself worthy in ever respect of such a position of trust.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, because it so fully breaks down the psychological forces that form the basis for human morality and political leanings. I am fascinated by how the human mind works and love learning about human nature.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I would be Captain America because of his inherent goodness and drive to help those around him.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Didn't I" by OneRepublic

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Some of the greatest challenges Utah will face in the coming decade include reforming our broken political system, supporting an exploding population, improving education, improving air quality, and fighting climate change. First we'll struggle to solve any major issues until we realign politicians' incentives to be more accountable and responsive to average people instead of powerful special interests. Second, Utah is going through rapid population growth requiring large new investments in education, transportation, and affordable housing. There's a reason people want to move here and stay here, and we need to make sure it stays a good place for people of any socioeconomic status and for the rising generation. Finally, we need to take important steps to preserve the beautiful natural environment by implementing policies that will keep our air clean and put us on a path to being carbon-neutral in the not-too-distant future.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

In this age of fractured and gridlocked government, it has become more important than ever for legislators to build personal relationships of trust with other policy makers, especially those of other political parties. Real, sustainable solutions to the urgent issues of our day cannot be implemented by one party alone. The best solutions are those developed by bipartisan coalitions that appropriately take in consideration the interests of all those involved. These political coalitions must begin with personal relationships of trust, the lack of which likely explains today's political gridlock.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I am always impressed by politicians who have the courage to defy enormous pressure and vote or speak against their own political party or party leadership. Recent examples of this include Mitt Romney, John McCain, Jeff Flake, and Justin Amash. These men showed that following their conscience was more important than showing blind partisan loyalty. I don't necessarily agree with all of their policy positions, but I cannot help but admire examples of courage that seem so rare in government today.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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2022 Elections

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Utah House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Mike Schultz

Majority Leader:Casey Snider

Minority Leader:Angela Romero

Representatives

District 1

Thomas Peterson (R)

District 2

Mike Petersen (R)

District 3

Jason Thompson (R)

District 4

Tiara Auxier (R)

District 5

Casey Snider (R)

District 6

Matt Gwynn (R)

District 7

Ryan Wilcox (R)

District 8

Jason Kyle (R)

District 9

Jake Sawyer (R)

District 10

Jill Koford (R)

District 11

Katy Hall (R)

District 12

Mike Schultz (R)

District 13

Karen Peterson (R)

District 14

Karianne Lisonbee (R)

District 15

Ariel Defay (R)

District 16

Trevor Lee (R)

District 17

Stewart Barlow (R)

District 18

Paul Cutler (R)

District 19

Raymond Ward (R)

District 20

Melissa Ballard (R)

District 21

Sandra Hollins (D)

District 22

Jen Dailey-Provost (D)

District 23

Hoang Nguyen (D)

District 24

Grant Miller (D)

District 25

Angela Romero (D)

District 26

Matt MacPherson (R)

District 27

Anthony Loubet (R)

District 28

Nicholeen Peck (R)

District 29

Bridger Bolinder (R)

District 30

Jake Fitisemanu (D)

District 31

Verona Mauga (D)

District 32

Sahara Hayes (D)

District 33

Doug Owens (D)

District 34

Carol Moss (D)

District 35

Rosalba Dominguez (D)

District 36

Jim Dunnigan (R)

District 37

Ashlee Matthews (D)

District 38

Cheryl Acton (R)

District 39

Ken Ivory (R)

District 40

Andrew Stoddard (D)

District 41

Gay Lynn Bennion (D)

District 42

Clint Okerlund (R)

District 43

Steven Eliason (R)

District 44

Jordan Teuscher (R)

District 45

Tracy Miller (R)

District 46

Cal Roberts (R)

District 47

Mark Strong (R)

District 48

Doug Fiefia (R)

District 49

Candice Pierucci (R)

District 50

Stephanie Gricius (R)

District 51

Leah Hansen (R)

District 52

Cory Maloy (R)

District 53

Kay Christofferson (R)

District 54

Kristen Chevrier (R)

District 55

Jon Hawkins (R)

District 56

Val Peterson (R)

District 57

Nelson Abbott (R)

District 58

David Shallenberger (R)

District 59

Mike Kohler (R)

District 60

Tyler Clancy (R)

District 61

Lisa Shepherd (R)

District 62

Norman Thurston (R)

District 63

Stephen Whyte (R)

District 64

Jefferson Burton (R)

District 65

Doug Welton (R)

District 66

Troy Shelley (R)

District 67

Christine Watkins (R)

District 68

Scott Chew (R)

District 69

Logan Monson (R)

District 70

Carl Albrecht (R)

District 71

Rex Shipp (R)

District 72

Joseph Elison (R)

District 73

Colin Jack (R)

District 74

Neil Walter (R)

District 75

Walt Brooks (R)

Republican Party (61)

Democratic Party (14)