Daniel W. Thatcher
2023 - Present
2027
2
Daniel W. Thatcher (Forward Party) is a member of the Utah State Senate, representing District 11. He assumed office on January 1, 2023. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Thatcher (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Utah State Senate to represent District 11. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
In March 2025, Thatcher announced that he was leaving the Republican Party and would join the Forward Party.[1] To read more about state legislators who switched parties, click here.
Biography
Daniel Thatcher's career experience includes working as an independent electronics and low voltage wiring contractor. He co-founded the Salt Lake County Young Republicans chapter and held various elected positions in the Salt Lake County Republican Party. His official biography describes him as self-educated.[2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Thatcher was assigned to the following committees:
- Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Chair
- Government Operations Committee, Chair
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee
2021-2022
Thatcher was assigned to the following committees:
- Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Chair
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee
2019-2020
Thatcher was assigned to the following committees:
- Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Chair
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Government Operations and Political Subdivisions |
| • Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Thatcher served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Government Operations and Political Subdivisions |
| • Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice |
| • Retirement and Independent Entities |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Thatcher served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Government Operations and Political Subdivisions |
| • Health and Human Services |
| • Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice |
| • Retirement and Independent Entities |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Thatcher served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Government Operations and Political Subdivisions |
| • Retirement and Independent Entities |
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
2022
See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Utah State Senate District 11
Incumbent Daniel W. Thatcher won election in the general election for Utah State Senate District 11 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Daniel W. Thatcher (R) | 100.0 | 24,680 |
| Total votes: 24,680 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Daniel W. Thatcher advanced from the Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 11.
Republican convention
Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 11
Incumbent Daniel W. Thatcher defeated Brad Pratt, Heather Garcia, and Angie Martin in the Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 11 on April 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel W. Thatcher (R) | 61.6 | 69 |
| Brad Pratt (R) | 38.4 | 43 | ||
| Heather Garcia (R) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Angie Martin (R) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Total votes: 112 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Note: The Republican convention advanced to two rounds of voting. In each round, candidates were eliminated or withdrew. After each round, delegates voted again until a winner was declared. The Republican convention results above show only the vote totals from the final round of voting.[3]
2018
- See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Utah State Senate District 12
Incumbent Daniel W. Thatcher defeated Clare Collard and Abrian Velarde in the general election for Utah State Senate District 12 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel W. Thatcher (R) | 50.4 | 13,835 |
 | Clare Collard (D) | 45.2 | 12,400 | |
 | Abrian Velarde (G) | 4.5 | 1,225 | |
| Total votes: 27,460 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
- See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Utah State Senate 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. Legrand Peeples was defeated by Clare Collard in the Democratic convention. Incumbent Daniel W. Thatcher defeated Vicki Griffith in the Republican convention. Thatcher defeated Collard in the general election.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Daniel W. Thatcher Incumbent |
58.8% | 8,548 | |
| Democratic | Clare Collard | 41.2% | 5,998 | |
| Total Votes | 14,546 | |||
2010
- See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2010
Thatcher defeated incumbent Brent H. Goodfellow (D) in the November 2 general election. Thatcher defeated James L. Leigh in the June 22 primary.[5]
| Utah State Senate, District 12, General Election 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Daniel W. Thatcher (R)
|
9,432 | |||
| Brent Goodfellow (D) | 8,281 | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Daniel W. Thatcher did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 16 to March 1.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 17 to March 3.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 4.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 19 to March 5.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 27 to March 12.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 28 through March 14.
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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
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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
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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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2012
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In 2012, the 59th Utah State Legislature, second year, was in session from January 23 to March 8.
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2011
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In 2011, the 59th Utah State Legislature, first year, was in session from January 24 to March 10.
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The Libertas Institute Index
The Libertas Institute is a libertarian-leaning think tank located in Utah.[9] Each year the organization releases a Legislative Index for Utah State Representatives and Senators.
2011
Daniel Thatcher received an index rating of 62%.
2012
Daniel Thatcher received an index rating of 58%.
2013
Daniel Thatcher received an index rating of 50%.
The Sutherland Institute Scorecard
The Sutherland Institute, "a conservative public policy think tank" in Utah, releases its Scorecard for Utah State Representatives and Senators once a year. The Score Card gives each legislator a score based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on specific issues which the Sutherland Institute thought were pro-conservative policies.[10]
2012
Daniel W. Thatcher received a score of 92% in the 2012 score card.[11]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Utah State Senate District 11 |
Officeholder Utah State Senate District 11 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Deseret News, "Utah lawmaker joins the Forward Party," accessed March 19, 2025
- ↑ Utah Senate, "Daniel W. Thatcher," accessed March 7, 2023
- ↑ Utah Republican Party, "2022 Nominating Convention, April 23, 2022, Convention Results," accessed July 17, 2023
- ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor, "2014 Candidate Filings," accessed March 21, 2014
- ↑ Utah Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed May 23, 2014
- ↑ GrassRoots, "2015 Legislative Report," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 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
- ↑ Sutherland Institute, "2012 Legislative Session," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ Sutherland Institute, "2012 Sutherland Institute Legislative Scorecard," accessed October 1, 2014
