Karen Kwan

Karen Kwan

Democratic Party

Utah State Senate District 12

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Karen Mayne

Prior offices

Utah House of Representatives District 34

Successor: Carol Moss

---

Utah House of Representatives District 31

Successor: Brett Garner

Predecessor: Elizabeth Weight

---

Compensation

Base salary

$293.55/legislative day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Appointed

January 16, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Pepperdine University

Graduate

Pepperdine University

Other

University of Utah

Personal

Profession

Associate professor

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Karen Kwan (Democratic Party) is a member of the Utah State Senate, representing District 12. She assumed office on January 17, 2023. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Kwan (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the Utah State Senate to represent District 12. She won in the special general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Karen Kwan earned a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in clinical psychology, both from Pepperdine University, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah. Her career experience includes working as an associate professor. Kwan was the chairperson of the Utah Chapter of OCA, Asian Pacific American Advocates, and was also a member of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association.

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

Kwan was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Business and Labor Committee
• House Business and Labor Committee
• Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee
• Senate Ethics Committee
• Senate Rules Committee
• Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee
• Administrative Rules Review Committee

2021-2022

Kwan was assigned to the following committees:

• Legislative Management Committee
• House Education Committee
• Transportation Committee

2019-2020

Kwan was assigned to the following committees:

• House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee
• Transportation Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Utah committee assignments, 2017
• Political Subdivisions
• 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

2024

See also: Utah state legislative special elections, 2024

General election

Special general election for Utah State Senate District 12

Incumbent Karen Kwan defeated Judy Weeks-Rohner in the special general election for Utah State Senate District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Kwan (D)	56.5	18,424
	Submit photo	Judy Weeks-Rohner (R)	43.5	14,201

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,625
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the special Democratic primary for Utah State Senate District 12.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Judy Weeks-Rohner advanced from the special Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 12.

Democratic convention

Special Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 12

Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the special Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 12 on March 30, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Karen Kwan (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. 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

Special Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 12

Judy Weeks-Rohner advanced from the special Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 12 on April 13, 2024.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Judy Weeks-Rohner (R)

---

	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.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kwan in this election.

2022

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent Karen Kwan defeated Andrew Nieto in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 31 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Kwan (D)	61.9	5,528
	Submit photo	Andrew Nieto (R)	38.1	3,407

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,935
= 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.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the Democratic primary for Utah House of Representatives District 31.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Andrew Nieto advanced from the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 31.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 31

Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 31 on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Karen Kwan (D)

---

	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.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 31

Andrew Nieto advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 31 on April 9, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Andrew Nieto (R)

---

	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 34

Incumbent Karen Kwan defeated David Young in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 34 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Kwan (D)	57.0	8,558
		David Young (R)	43.0	6,458

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,016
= 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.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 34 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Karen Kwan (D)

---

	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.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 34

David Young defeated Judie Roberts in the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 34 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
		Judie Roberts (R)
✔		David Young (R)

---

	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.

2018

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Karen Kwan defeated David Young in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 34 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Karen Kwan (D)	60.0	7,042
		David Young (R)	40.0	4,702

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,744
= 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.

2016

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 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 Johnny Anderson (R) did not seek re-election.

Karen Kwan defeated Macade Jensen in the Utah House of Representatives District 34 general election.

Utah House of Representatives, District 34 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Karen Kwan	54.45%	6,558
	Republican	Macade Jensen	45.55%	5,485
Total Votes				12,043
Source: Utah Secretary of State

Karen Kwan ran unopposed in the Utah House of Representatives District 34 Democratic primary.

Utah House of Representatives District 34, Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Karen Kwan  (unopposed)

Macade Jensen defeated Jack P. Castellanos in the Utah House of Representatives District 34 Republican primary.

Utah House of Representatives District 34, Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Macade Jensen	66.96%	1,465
	Republican	Jack P. Castellanos	33.04%	723
Total Votes				2,188

2014

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 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. Karen Kwan was unopposed in the Democratic convention. Incumbent Johnny Anderson was unopposed in the Republican convention. Anderson defeated Kwan in the general election. Dean Campbell (D) withdrew before the primary.

Utah House of Representatives District 34, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Johnny Anderson Incumbent	53.4%	3,901
	Democratic	Karen Kwan	46.6%	3,408
Total Votes				7,309

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Karen Kwan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Karen Kwan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Karen Kwan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

Kwan's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Economic Development

• Excerpt: "By promoting education and skills training, we can empower our communities. By increasing the minimum wage and strengthening the middle class, we create a community that can better provide for itself and for others. A strong economic plan lays out a way to live within our means while investing in our future generations. Investing in education and promoting strong family values, safe neighborhoods, and clean streets is the pathway to developing a sense of pride and a future of hard working Americans."

Small Businesses

• Excerpt: "Small businesses may not generate the money that larger businesses do, but they are a major component and contributor to the strength of local economies. Small businesses not only provide employment opportunities, they also provide a brighter future in the communities they serve. They allow for self-sufficiency and peace of mind when we know where our products are coming from."

Diversify the Economy

• Excerpt: "Diversifying our economy is important to our future. Promoting a broad range of sectors gives us options and opportunity, and will ensure a sustainable economy."

I stand for Public Education

• Excerpt: "As an educator, I believe in real solutions to financial issues, such as providing funding to public education vs. private enterprises."

Seniors are the fastest growing age group in Utah

• Excerpt: "This creates an increase in disability rates and the need for government funding for seniors, such as Medicaid."

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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Karen Kwan campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Utah State Senate District 12	Won general	$298,062	$-279,865
2022	Utah House of Representatives District 31	Won general	$61,407	$-37,800
2020	Utah House of Representatives District 34	Won general	$29,721	N/A**
2018	Utah House of Representatives District 34	Won general	$67,342	N/A**
2016	Utah House of Representatives, District 34	Won	$65,301	N/A**
Grand total			$521,832	$-317,664
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.

Endorsements

2014

In 2014, Kwan's endorsements included the following:

• Women’s Campaign Fund
• American Federation of Teachers AFT
• Committee for a Democratic Majority
• Equality Utah
• Planned Parenthood Action Council PPAC

• North Jordan Irrigation Company
• Utah Stonewall Democrats
• Utah African American Democratic Caucus
• Utah Hispanic Caucus
• Utah Asian American Pacific Islander Democratic Caucus

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Utah

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].

In 2024, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 16 to March 1. Americans for Prosperity Utah Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Utah Cultural Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to arts and the humanities. Utah Education Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 17 to March 3. Americans for Prosperity Utah Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Utah Cultural Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to arts and the humanities. Utah Education Association House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 4. Americans for Prosperity Utah Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Utah Cultural Alliance Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to arts and the humanities. Utah Education Association House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 19 to March 5. GrassRoots 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." Leap Forward Legislators are scored on their votes on bills the organization chose to evaluate. Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Utah Education Association House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 27 to March 12. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 28 through March 14. Americans for Prosperity Utah Legislators are scored based on their votes on economic issues. Alliance for a Better Utah Legislators are scored on their votes on bills the Alliance for a Better Utah supported. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." Utah Education Association House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Sierra Club Legislators are scored based on their votes relating to environmental and conservation issues. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 22 through March 8. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." Utah Education Association House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Sierra Club House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes relating to environmental and conservation issues. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 23 through March 9. There was also a special session on September 20. Americans for Prosperity Utah Legislators are scored based on their votes on economic issues. GrassRoots 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." Libertas Institute Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise." Utah Education Association House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Utah Taxpayers Association Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Karen Mayne (D)	Utah State Senate District 12 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Elizabeth Weight (D)	Utah House of Representatives District 31 2023-2023	Succeeded by Brett Garner (D)
Preceded by -	Utah House of Representatives District 34 2017-2023	Succeeded by Carol Moss (D)

[show]

Current members of the Utah State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Kirk Cullimore

Minority Leader:Luz Escamilla

Senators

District 1

Scott Sandall (R)

District 2

Chris Wilson (R)

District 3

John Johnson (R)

District 4

Calvin Musselman (R)

District 5

Ann Millner (R)

District 6

Jerry Stevenson (R)

District 7

Stuart Adams (R)

District 8

Todd Weiler (R)

District 9

Jennifer Plumb (D)

District 10

Luz Escamilla (D)

District 11

Daniel Thatcher (F)

District 12

Karen Kwan (D)

District 13

Nate Blouin (D)

District 14

Stephanie Pitcher (D)

District 15

Kathleen Riebe (D)

District 16

Wayne Harper (R)

District 17

Lincoln Fillmore (R)

District 18

Dan McCay (R)

District 19

Kirk Cullimore (R)

District 20

Ronald Winterton (R)

District 21

Brady Brammer (R)

District 22

Heidi Balderree (R)

District 23

Keith Grover (R)

District 24

Keven Stratton (R)

District 25

Mike McKell (R)

District 26

David Hinkins (R)

District 27

Derrin Owens (R)

District 28

Evan Vickers (R)

District 29

Don Ipson (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (6)

Forward Party (1)

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