Merrill Nelson
Merrill Nelson (Republican Party) was a member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing District 68. He assumed office on January 1, 2013. He left office on January 1, 2023.
Nelson (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Utah House of Representatives to represent District 68. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Nelson previously served in the Utah House of Representatives from 1991 to 1993.
Biography
Nelson earned both his B.S. and his J.D. from Brigham Young University. His professional experience includes working as a lawyer.
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.
2021-2022
Nelson was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Nelson was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Government Operations |
| • Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Nelson served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Government Operations |
| • Judiciary, Vice-Chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Nelson served on the following committees:
| Utah committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Economic Development and Workforce Services |
| • Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment |
| • Retirement and Independent Entities, Vice chair |
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
2020
See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Utah House of Representatives District 68
Incumbent Merrill Nelson defeated Amiee Finster and Kirk Pearson in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 68 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Merrill Nelson (R) | 75.3 | 16,036 |
| Amiee Finster (D) | 15.7 | 3,334 | ||
 | Kirk Pearson (Constitution Party) | 9.0 | 1,920 | |
| Total votes: 21,290 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 68
Amiee Finster advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 68 on April 25, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Amiee Finster (D) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican convention
Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 68
Incumbent Merrill Nelson advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 68 on April 25, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Merrill Nelson (R) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Utah House of Representatives District 68
Incumbent Merrill Nelson defeated Merle Wall, Kirk Pearson, Denyse Housley Cox, and Warren Rogers in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 68 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Merrill Nelson (R) | 71.4 | 10,509 |
 | Merle Wall (D) | 16.1 | 2,367 | |
| Kirk Pearson (Constitution Party) | 6.5 | 960 | |
| Denyse Housley Cox (L) | 4.0 | 596 | ||
| Warren Rogers (Independent American Party) | 2.0 | 292 | ||
| Total votes: 14,724 | |||
| = 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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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 Merrill Nelson defeated Cindee Beard and Kirk Pearson in the Utah House of Representatives District 68 general election.[1]
| Utah House of Representatives, District 68 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Merrill Nelson Incumbent |
70.81% | 10,714 | |
| Democratic | Cindee Beard | 18.63% | 2,819 | |
| Constitution | Kirk Pearson | 10.56% | 1,597 | |
| Total Votes | 15,130 | |||
| Source: Utah Secretary of State | ||||
Cindee Beard ran unopposed in the Utah House of Representatives District 68 Democratic primary.[2][3]
| Utah House of Representatives District 68, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Cindee Beard (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Merrill Nelson ran unopposed in the Utah House of Representatives District 68 Republican primary.[2][3]
| Utah House of Representatives District 68, Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Merrill Nelson Incumbent (unopposed) | |
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. Incumbent Merrill Nelson was unopposed in the Republican convention. Rett Rowley, an Independent American candidate, was disqualified from the general election ballot. Nelson was unopposed in the general election. Cindy Vincent (R) withdrew before the primary.[4]
2012
Nelson won election in the 2012 election for Utah House of Representatives District 68. He advanced past the Republican convention, defeated incumbent Bill Wright in the June 26 Republican primary, and defeated Thomas Nedreberg (D) and Paul McCollaum, Jr. (Constitution) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5][6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Merrill Nelson |
73.8% | 9,831 | |
| Democratic | Thomas Nedreberg | 19% | 2,531 | |
| Constitution | Paul McCollaum, Jr. | 7.2% | 953 | |
| Total Votes | 13,315 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Merrill Nelson |
52.3% | 1,910 |
| Bill Wright Incumbent | 47.7% | 1,744 |
| Total Votes | 3,654 | |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Merrill Nelson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2012
Nelson's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[8]
- Education
- Excerpt: "I want to be not only the "education candidate," but a strong voice for education in the Utah Legislature. Legislators should not be adversaries of educators. Neither should the Legislature act as a "super-school board" and dictate the education decisions of parents and local elected boards, teachers, and administrators."
- Economic Development
- Excerpt: "I favor free markets. Economic freedom goes hand-in-hand with political freedom. I will work to eliminate government regulations that inhibit free enterprise and economic growth. This includes federal regulations that shut down coal-fired electric plants, close public lands to mining and energy development, and place predators on grazing lands with livestock."
- Healthcare
- Excerpt: "Federal payments for healthcare merely drive up the cost of health care, just as federal loan guaranties inflated the housing market and the cost of higher education. Socialized medicine is breaking the federal budget and will break state budgets as well unless we push back."
- Illegal Immigration
- Excerpt: "My heart goes out to families in other countries racked by poverty, crime, and violence. I too would seek a better life in another country. However, immigration must be legal and ordered, and defiance of our laws cannot be ignored. We must stop illegal immigration and enforce the sanctity of our borders and our laws."
- Second Amendment
- Excerpt: "I fully support our constitutional right to bear arms."
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.
2022
In 2022, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 4.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.
- 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."
- Legislators are scored based on their votes in relation to the organization's "mission to defend individual liberty, private property and free enterprise."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to arts and the humanities.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education.
- 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]. |
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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
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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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
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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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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The Libertas Institute Index
The Libertas Institute is a libertarian-leaning think tank located in Utah.[12] Each year the organization releases a Legislative Index for Utah State Representatives and Senators.
2013
Merrill Nelson received an index rating of 48%.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Utah Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Utah.gov, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed March 23, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Utah.gov, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed August 20, 2016
- ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor, "2014 Candidate Filings," accessed March 22, 2014
- ↑ Lieutenant Governor's Office, "Utah 2012 candidate filings," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ C-SPAN, "AP Elections Results Utah - Summary Vote Results," accessed June 27, 2012
- ↑ Utah.Gov, "2012 Primary Election Results," accessed July 24, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ MerrillNelscon.com, "Campaign website, Issues," accessed April 1, 2014
- ↑ GrassRoots, "2015 Legislative Report," accessed May 30, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 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
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Utah House of Representatives District 68 2013-2023 |
Succeeded by Scott H. Chew (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Utah House of Representatives 1991-1993 |
Succeeded by - |
