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Ralph Okerlund

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Ralph Okerlund
Image of Ralph Okerlund

Republican Party

Prior offices
Monroe City Council
Monroe City Mayor
Utah State Senate District 24
Successor: Derrin Owens

Education

Associate

Dixie College, 1972

Bachelor's

University of Utah, 1973

Personal
Profession
Farmer
Contact

Personal Facebook

Ralph Okerlund (Republican Party) was a member of the Utah State Senate, representing District 24. He assumed office on January 1, 2009. He left office on January 1, 2021.

Okerlund (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Utah State Senate to represent District 24. He won in the general election on November 8, 2016.

Biography

Okerlund earned his A.A. from Dixie College in 1972. He went on to receive his B.S. in political science from the University of Utah in 1973.

Okerlund worked as a teacher for South Sevier High School and Middle School from 1973 to 1978. He was a Dairyman from 1978 to 2008. He began working as a farmer in 1978.

Okerlund's political experience began with his service on the Monroe City Council, as well as the Monroe City Mayor. He began serving as the Sevier County Commissioner in 1995.

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Okerlund 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
• Business and Labor
• Economic Development and Workforce Services
• Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Okerlund served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Okerlund served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Okerlund served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Okerlund served on the following committees:

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 State Senate elections, 2020

Ralph Okerlund did not file to run for re-election.

2016

See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Utah State Senate 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 Ralph Okerlund ran unopposed in the Utah State Senate District 24 general election.[1]

Utah State Senate, District 24 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Ralph Okerlund Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Utah Secretary of State

Incumbent Ralph Okerlund ran unopposed in the Utah State Senate District 24 Republican primary.[2][3]

Utah State Senate District 24, Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Ralph Okerlund Incumbent (unopposed)


2012

See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2012

Okerlund won re-election in the 2012 election for Utah State Senate District 24. Okerlund defeated Patrick Painter in the June 26 Republican primary and defeated Trestin Meacham (C) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[4][5]

Utah State Senate, District 24, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRalph Okerlund Incumbent 86.4% 29,588
     Constitution Trestin Meacham 13.6% 4,647
Total Votes 34,235
Utah State Senate District 24 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRalph Okerlund Incumbent 61.1% 7,278
Patrick Painter 38.9% 4,626
Total Votes 11,904

2008

On November 4, 2008, Okerlund won election to the 24th District Seat in the Utah State Senate, defeating opponents Tobiah Dillon and Benton Petersen.[6]

Buttars raised $35,306 for his campaign, while Dillon raised $5,588 and Petersen raised $0. [7]

Utah State Senate, District 24 (2008)
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark transparent.png Ralph Okerlund (R) 19,073 67.60%
Tobiah Dillon (D) 6,571 22.9%
Benton Petersen (C) 2,666 9.5%

Campaign themes

2012

Okerlund's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[8]

  • Jobs and the Economy
Excerpt: "Putting Utah's back to work is the biggest issue facing our State. Utah is doing better than nearly every other State, bur we can improve. There are numerous reforms we can, and must do to promote prosperity for the families and businesses of our State."
  • Education
Excerpt: "I am proud of our area and my first pledge will be to do everything I can to ensure each child is best served. We can work together to ensure our state becomes a leader educating children. First off, I want to say to our great teachers - I consider it an honor to support you and your efforts."
  • Public Lands
Excerpt: "The public lands that make up a huge part of Senate District 24 are critical to the economic development of our rural counties. We must ensure that access to these lands is not limited. These lands are much of the economic engine for the rural areas of Utah. They provide abundant natural resources and it is in our best interest to continue responsibly developing the resources."

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.

Ralph Okerlund campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2016Utah State Senate, District 24Won $189,976 N/A**
2012Utah State Senate, District 24Won $115,987 N/A**
2008Utah State Senate, District 24Won $35,306 N/A**
Grand total$341,269 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** 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.






2020

In 2020, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 27 to March 12.

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 conservative issues.
Legislators are scored based on their votes on tax related legislation.


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012


2011

The Libertas Institute Index

See also: Libertas Institute Legislative Index (2013)

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.

2010

Ralph Okerlund received an index rating of 67%.

2011

Ralph Okerlund received an index rating of 46%.

2012

Ralph Okerlund received an index rating of 50%.

2013

Ralph Okerlund received an index rating of 24%.

The Sutherland Institute Scorecard

See also: Sutherland Institute Legislative Scorecard (2012)

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.[13]

2012

Ralph Okerlund received a score of 100% in the 2012 score card.[14]

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Okerlund and his wife Cindy have three children.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Utah Secretary of State, "2016 General Election," accessed November 29, 2016
  2. ↑ Utah.gov, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed March 23, 2016
  3. ↑ Utah.gov, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed August 20, 2016
  4. ↑ Utah 2012 candidate filings
  5. ↑ Utah.Gov, "2012 Primary Election Results," accessed July 24, 2012 (dead link)
  6. ↑ 2008 election results, Utah State Senate, District 24
  7. ↑ District 24 Utah State Senate spending, 2008
  8. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  9. ↑ GrassRoots, "2015 Legislative Report," accessed May 30, 2017
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Utah Legislative Ratings, "UTAH HOUSE Scorecard - Compiled 2015 Conservative Liberal Index," May 19, 2015
  11. ↑ GrassRoots, "2015 Legislative Report," accessed May 30, 2017
  12. ↑ Libertas Institute: "Legislator Indexes," accessed January 21, 2014
  13. ↑ Sutherland Institute, "2012 Legislative Session," accessed March 29, 2014
  14. ↑ Sutherland Institute, "2012 Sutherland Institute Legislative Scorecard," accessed October 1, 2014
Political offices
Preceded by
Leonard Blackham 		Utah Senate District 24
2009–2020 		Succeeded by
Derrin Owens (R)
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