Melissa Ballard

Melissa Ballard

Republican Party

Utah House of Representatives District 20

Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

6

Predecessor

Becky Edwards

Compensation

Base salary

$293.55/legislative day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Melissa Ballard (Republican Party) is a member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing District 20. She assumed office on January 1, 2019. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Ballard (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Utah House of Representatives to represent District 20. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

Ballard was assigned to the following committees:

• House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee
• House Education Committee
• Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee

2021-2022

Ballard was assigned to the following committees:

• House Education Committee
• Transportation Committee

2019-2020

Ballard was assigned to the following committees:

• House Education Committee
• Transportation Committee

Elections

2024

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Melissa Ballard defeated Lew Jeppson in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Ballard (R)	66.1	11,381
	Submit photo	Lew Jeppson (D)	33.9	5,848

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,229
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

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

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Melissa Ballard advanced from the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Lew Jeppson advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on April 2, 2024.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Lew Jeppson (D)

---

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

Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Melissa Ballard advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on April 13, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Melissa Ballard (R)

---

	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.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ballard in this election.

Pledges

Ballard signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

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.
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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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.
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 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 House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Incumbent Melissa Ballard defeated Phil Graves in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Ballard (R)	67.3	13,828
	Submit photo	Phil Graves (D)	32.7	6,717

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,545
= 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 20

Phil Graves advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on April 25, 2020.

		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.

2018

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Melissa Ballard defeated Ryan Jones in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Ballard (R)	65.3	10,111
	Submit photo	Ryan Jones (D)	34.7	5,379

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,490
= 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 primary election

Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20

Melissa Ballard defeated Matt Jensen and Glen Jenkins in the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 20 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Melissa Ballard	41.3	2,207
	Submit photo	Matt Jensen	38.0	2,031
		Glen Jenkins	20.7	1,106

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 5,344
= 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

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Melissa Ballard did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Melissa Ballard did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Melissa Ballard 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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Melissa Ballard campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Utah House of Representatives District 20	Won general	$32,851	$-59,071
2022	Utah House of Representatives District 20	Won general	$72,560	$-37,098
2020	Utah House of Representatives District 20	Won general	$43,749	N/A**
2018	Utah House of Representatives District 20	Won general	$41,107	N/A**
Grand total			$190,267	$-96,168
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.

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.

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Candidate

Utah House of Representatives District 20

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Utah House of Representatives District 20

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Becky Edwards (R)	Utah House of Representatives District 20 2019-Present	Succeeded by -

[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)