Utah State Senate District 12

Utah State Senate District 12 is represented by Karen Kwan (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Utah state senators represented an average of 112,940 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 95,544 residents.

About the office

Members of the Utah State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Half of the Senators are up for re-election every two years. Utah legislators assume office the first day in January.^[1]^[2]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the Utah State Senate, a candidate must be:^[3]

A U.S. citizen,
At least 25 years old,
A three-year resident of Utah,
A resident for 6 months of the relevant senate district, and
A qualified voter.

In addition, eligible candidates cannot:^[3]

Have been convicted of certain crimes, or
Hold a public office of profit or trust.

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[4]
Salary	Per diem
$293.55/legislative day	Per diem is reimbursed to state legislators when they submit receipts or turn in expense reports.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Utah State Legislature, the governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. A liaison for the political party that last held the seat must recommend a successor to the governor. A person who is selected to fill a vacant state House seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term. Interim appointees to state Senate seats serve until the next regular general election.^[5]

If the vacancy happens after the nominating deadline in an election year, but before August 31, a new candidate must file a declaration of candidacy and certificate of nomination in order to be on the ballot. Nominating papers must be filed within 21 days after the vacancy occurs.^[6]

See sources: Utah Const. Art. 6, Sec. 13 and Utah Code §20A-1-503

District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census

Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed new state legislative districts for both chambers into law on November 16, 2021. After Cox called a special session to begin on November 9, 2021, the Utah legislature voted to approve the House and Senate district maps on November 10, 2021. The House districts proposal passed the House in a 60-12 vote and cleared the Senate in a 25-3 vote. The House voted 58-13 to approve the Senate map and the Senate approved the proposal in a 26-2 vote. ^[7]^[8] These maps took effect for Utah's 2022 legislative elections.

Both proposals differed from those presented to the legislative committee by Utah's Independent Redistricting Commission on November 1, 2021.^[9] The commission presented 12 maps (three each for House, Senate, congressional, and school board districts) to the Legislative Redistricting Committee, one of which was submitted by a citizen.^[10]

How does redistricting in Utah work? In Utah, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are ultimately enacted by the state legislature. An advisory commission submits proposed maps to the legislature for its approval. This commission comprises the following seven members:^[11]

One appointed by the governor, to serve as the chair of the commission;
One appointed by the president of the Utah Senate;
One appointed by the speaker of the Utah House of Representatives;
One appointed by the leader of the largest minority political party in the Utah Senate;
One appointed by the leader of the largest minority political party in the Utah House of Representatives;
One appointed jointly by the leadership of the majority political party in the Utah Senate, president of the Utah Senate, and the leadership of the same political party in the Utah House of Representatives; and
One appointed jointly by the leadership of the largest minority political party in the Utah Senate, and the leadership of the same political party in the Utah House of Representatives, including the speaker of the House, if the speaker is a member of the same political party.

The commission is required to select between one and three plans, with the affirmative votes of at least five members, to submit to the chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court. The chief justice is responsible for determining if the commission's plans meet redistricting standards. The commission then forwards the plans to the state legislature, which may decide whether to accept, amend, or reject the plans.

Utah State Senate District 12
until December 31, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Utah State Senate District 12
starting January 1, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: Utah state legislative special elections, 2024

A special election for District 12 of the Utah State Senate was called for November 5, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was January 8, 2024.

The seat became vacant after Karen Mayne (D) resigned on January 16, 2023. A Democratic special election convention was held on January 16, 2023, to determine who would be appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R). Karen Kwan won the convention vote, and she assumed office on January 17, 2023.^[12]

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.
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 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.