Daniel Cottam

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

Daniel Cottam

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Cypress Creek High School

Bachelor's

Brigham Young University, 1993

Medical

University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, 1997

Personal

Birthplace

Salt Lake City, Utah

Profession

Physician

Contact

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Daniel Cottam (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Utah's 1st Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Cottam completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Daniel Cottam earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and a medical degree from the University of Texas. His career experience includes working as a businessowner, bariatric surgeon, and as a consultant with Medtronic.

Elections

2024

See also: Utah's 1st Congressional District election, 2024

Utah's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Republican primary)

Utah's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Utah District 1

Incumbent Blake Moore defeated Bill Campbell and Daniel Cottam in the general election for U.S. House Utah District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Blake Moore (R)	63.1	230,975
		Bill Campbell (D)	32.1	117,319
		Daniel Cottam (L)	4.8	17,601

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 365,895
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Bill Campbell advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Utah District 1.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Utah District 1

Incumbent Blake Moore defeated Paul Miller in the Republican primary for U.S. House Utah District 1 on June 25, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Blake Moore	71.0	72,702
		Paul Miller	29.0	29,640

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 102,342
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Daniel Cottam advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Utah District 1.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for U.S. House Utah District 1

Bill Campbell advanced from the Democratic convention for U.S. House Utah District 1 on April 27, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Bill Campbell (D)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican convention

Republican Convention for U.S. House Utah District 1

Select round: Round 2 Round 1

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Blake Moore in round 2 , and Paul Miller in round 2 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Paul Miller	54.9	446	154	Advanced (2)
		Blake Moore	45.1	367	-27	Advanced (2)
		Derek Draper	0.0	0	-184	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Blake Moore	45.3	394	0	Advanced (2)
		Paul Miller	33.6	292	0	Advanced (2)
		Derek Draper	21.1	184	0	1

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 870
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Utah District 1

Daniel Cottam advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Utah District 1 on April 20, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Daniel Cottam (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cottam in this election.

2022

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Melissa Ballard defeated Phil Graves and Daniel Cottam in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Ballard (R)	60.8	8,126
	Submit photo	Phil Graves (D)	33.4	4,468
		Daniel Cottam (L)	5.7	764

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,358
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Phil Graves advanced from the Democratic primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Melissa Ballard defeated Ronald Mortensen in the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Ballard	65.1	3,733
	Submit photo	Ronald Mortensen	34.9	1,999

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,732
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Daniel Cottam advanced from the Libertarian primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Phil Graves advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on March 30, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Phil Graves (D)

---

	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.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Melissa Ballard and Ronald Mortensen advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Melissa Ballard (R)
✔	Submit photo	Ronald Mortensen (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.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Daniel Cottam advanced from the Libertarian convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Daniel Cottam (L)

---

	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 gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020

Utah gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)

General election

General election for Governor of Utah

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Utah on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Spencer Cox (R)	63.0	918,754
		Chris Peterson (D)	30.3	442,754
		Daniel Cottam (L)	3.5	51,393
		Gregory Duerden (Independent American Party of Utah)	1.8	25,810
	Submit photo	Madeline Kazantzis (Independent) (Write-in)	1.3	18,988
		Kristena Conlin (Independent) (Write-in)	0.1	937
		Richard Whitney (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	230
	Submit photo	Tyler Batty (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	12

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,458,878
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Utah

Spencer Cox defeated Jon Huntsman, Gregory Hughes, and Thomas Wright in the Republican primary for Governor of Utah on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Spencer Cox	36.1	190,565
		Jon Huntsman	34.9	184,246
		Gregory Hughes	21.0	110,835
		Thomas Wright	7.9	41,532

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 527,178
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jan Garbett (R)

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Governor of Utah

The following candidates ran in the Democratic convention for Governor of Utah on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
		Neil Hansen (D)
	Submit photo	Ryan Jackson (D)
		Zachary Moses (D)
✔		Chris Peterson (D)
		Nikki Pino (D)
		Archie Williams III (D)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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 Governor of Utah

Select round: Round 6 Round 5 Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Gregory Hughes in round 6 , and Spencer Cox in round 6 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Spencer Cox	55.0	1,884	396	Advanced (6)
		Gregory Hughes	45.0	1,544	437	Advanced (6)
		Aimee Winder Newton	0.0	0	-918	6
		Thomas Wright	0.0	0	0	5
		Jeff Burningham	0.0	0	0	4
		Jon Huntsman	0.0	0	0	3
		Jason Christensen	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Spencer Cox	42.4	1,488	201	Advanced (6)
		Gregory Hughes	31.5	1,107	206	Advanced (6)
		Aimee Winder Newton	26.1	918	215	6
		Thomas Wright	0.0	0	-658	5
		Jeff Burningham	0.0	0	0	4
		Jon Huntsman	0.0	0	0	3
		Jason Christensen	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Spencer Cox	36.3	1,287	64	Advanced (6)
		Gregory Hughes	25.4	901	182	Advanced (6)
		Aimee Winder Newton	19.8	703	163	6
		Thomas Wright	18.5	658	105	5
		Jeff Burningham	0.0	0	-530	4
		Jon Huntsman	0.0	0	0	3
		Jason Christensen	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Spencer Cox	34.3	1,223	141	Advanced (6)
		Gregory Hughes	20.2	719	45	Advanced (6)
		Aimee Winder Newton	15.1	540	32	6
		Thomas Wright	15.5	553	59	5
		Jeff Burningham	14.9	530	26	4
		Jon Huntsman	0.0	0	-315	3
		Jason Christensen	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Spencer Cox	30.2	1,082	1	Advanced (6)
		Gregory Hughes	18.8	674	11	Advanced (6)
		Aimee Winder Newton	14.2	508	8	6
		Thomas Wright	13.8	494	5	5
		Jeff Burningham	14.1	504	17	4
		Jon Huntsman	8.8	315	0	3
		Jason Christensen	0.0	0	-44	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Spencer Cox	30.2	1,081	0	Advanced (6)
		Gregory Hughes	18.5	663	0	Advanced (6)
		Aimee Winder Newton	14.0	500	0	6
		Thomas Wright	13.7	489	0	5
		Jeff Burningham	13.6	487	0	4
		Jon Huntsman	8.8	315	0	3
		Jason Christensen	1.2	44	0	2

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 3,579
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Daniel Cottam completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cottam'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 practicing surgeon in the first congressional district. I am married and have five children. I have started four businesses in the first congressional district and these businesses all relate to healthcare. Up until the age of 50 I had been registered as both a Republican and Democrat, but when I woke up on my birthday, my gift to myself was to register as a libertarian. The party principals all are aligned much more closely with my belief system. Currently the candidates in the first congressional district are all lacking in practical solutions to the hard choices facing this country. Being a libertarian allows me to speak the truth about the national debt, social security and Medicare. It also allows me to advocate for common sense solutions to these problems. In addition I can advocate for issues that are closely aligned with Utah's needs, and since we have a closely divided congress, a libertarian who holds no allegiance to any party is actually in the best interest of all Utah's citizens.

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?

• As a libertarian I am not beholden to the power structures of either party. Many congressmen and women want to be part of party leadership like Blake Moore and thus make many bad decisions. A prime example of this is Blake Moore's repeated votes for a non-balanced budget. Each congress person has a bad reason for this. Javiar Milei, the libertarian president of Argentina, showed us how easy it was to do this. In Argentina which has run large budget deficit's for over 100 years he was able to do this in three months. There was some austerity pains, but the nation survived and is now running a budget surplus. I pledge to the voters of the first district to never vote for a budget deficit.
• Up to now neither opponent of mine in the Utah's first congressional district has advocated publicly for the need to reform Medicare. I am not afraid to say we need to reform Medicare. One of the ways I would reform Medicare is by decreasing regulations that prohibit patients from using less expensive surgical centers. I would also allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for drug prices. I would also make it easier to opt out of Medicare and stay on employer health policies further saving taxpayer funds.
• Social Security has been an important part of the retirement landscape for generations and everyone is afraid to do anything about it because they think they won't get elected if they advocate for any change. As a libertarian, I believe in fiscal sanity. Since social security will not meet its obligations by 2033, we need to raise the retirement age by at least 3 years across the board with a gradual phase in. The government has always borrowed money against social security benefits which leads to the government spending more money. We need to eliminate the ability of the government to borrow from social security and allow people to take up to a third of their social security saving and buy index funds.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a libertarian I am always concerned about government overreach. A prime example of this is Blake Moore allowing warrantless wiretapping of Americans without their knowledge. This happens as part of the FISA act and Blake Moore voted to allow this and voted against the Amendment to force the government to get a warrant whenever they look at American's data because he said it was inconvenient for the federal government. This bill conveniently applied to all Americans except members of Congress. Freedom is not a inconvenience. It is mandatory.

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

Ron Paul, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Ginsberg and Justin Amash are great examples of principal people in the spotlight. They each followed a vision of the future and have stuck to their principals with rare exceptions.

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

The writing of Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok on their shared blog the Marginal Revolution offers good insights into the thinking of modern day Libertarians. Additionally, the writing of Don Boudreaux on trade policy is extremely insightful into how I would legislate on trade. Milton Friedman offers good perspectives on the consequences of overregulation.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

As a libertarian we value the individuals freedom above all else. However, to keep this priority front and center an elected official needs to be able to say no to governments intrusions into our lives. It means saying no to the overregulation of our jobs. It means saying no to crony capitalism. It means saying no favoritism by the government in hiring and benefits. It means saying no when the president wants to get us involved in a foreign war without our consent.

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

I am a principled person with qualities that would make saying no easier than someone else. The libertarian party prides itself on its ability to be disagreeable without taking offense. I hope to continue this proud tradition to the House.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The responsibility of a congressman is to pass a balanced budget for the federal government. Everything else is secondary.

What legacy would you like to leave?

The most important legacy I could leave would be the first libertarian to be elected to federal offices and show people of the US that Libertarians can be trusted to govern the country.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the election of Jimmy Carter. For some reason I was not to pleased with him. Little did I know or appreciate how important his deregulatory impulses would be to the modern economy. He is the model of trade deregulation for the America.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was cleaning construction sites when i was 14 so that there would not be too much dust when the workers came to do sheet rock. It was hard and very dusty work. I did this for an entire summer.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is always the one I am reading next. However, the best book I have read in a long time is Freedom and Evolution by Adrian Bejan.

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

It would be any hero in any Louis L'Amor book.

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

I am two days into college and I am three lectures behind. by Aimee Carty. This is what i always feel like.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

The biggest struggle in my life is finding the time to do everything i want to do.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The best thing about the house is the fact that every two years people can be voted out when they are doing a bad job. The current congressman Blake Moore is doing a bad job and should be voted out.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I personally believe that previous experience in government is a liability not an asset. New perspective are constantly needed to prevent institutional sclerosis and group think.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The greatest challenge is to get enough people elected who actually believe in a balanced budget.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I would prefer three years so there would be more time to legislate and less time running for congress.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Term limits are a good idea. The fresh turnover of people and ideas is needed in a functioning democracy.

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

Ron Paul offers a look at what a principled politician looks like who is unafraid to say no.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

In my local city an apartment complex wanted to be erected. However, there were so many people who were against it that it did not get approved. These same people complain that their children and grand children cannot live near them. Until we accept the fact that the only way to solve the housing crisis is higher density we will continue to have relatively unaffordable housing.

Tell us your favorite joke.

I am not a very funny person.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise on most things is very important but on freedom of speech and a balanced budget there is little room for compromise.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

As a member of the house I will insist that every budget i vote yes for must be balanced. Until we elect people with these priorities we will continue to have inflation and debt issues.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Investigative powers in the last 40 years have almost always been used for political purposes. When house investigations are undertaken there should be broad consensus of a problem long before the investigation has begun. This has not happened since Richard Nixon and it makes politicians look foolish.

What committees interest you?

There is no committee in congress that could not use a libertarian on it so I would be happy to serve on any committee. However, healthcare is a specialty of mine and i would be best there.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Currently there is no financial transparency or government accountability on the federal level. This needs to be restored by electing people who can say no to the current power structure.

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.

2022

Daniel Cottam did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Daniel Cottam did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Daniel Cottam campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Utah District 1	Lost general	$0	N/A**
2022	Utah House of Representatives District 20	Lost general	$80	$-80
Grand total			$80	$-80
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

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Footnotes

[show]

Utah's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Curtis (R)

Mike Lee (R)

Representatives

District 1

Blake Moore (R)

District 2

Celeste Maloy (R)

District 3

Mike Kennedy (R)

District 4

Burgess Owens (R)

Republican Party (6)