Notable Utah races, 2016
| Notable Utah Races | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | June 28, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Notable Races | |
|---|---|
| Choose a state below: | |
Ballotpedia identified five notable 2016 Utah state legislative races.
Overview
- Main articles: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2016 and Utah State Senate elections, 2016
All 75 state House seats and a total of 15 seats out of the state Senate's 29 seats were up for election in 2016.
State legislature remained Republican
Heading into the general election, Utah was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas. Before the general election, Republicans held a 25-seat majority in the state House and a nine-seat majority in the state Senate. They remained in control after November 2016, as Democrats would have had to gain 26 seats to gain a majority in the House and 10 seats to gain a majority in the Senate.
| Partisan breakdown of the Utah Legislature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Republicans | Democrats | |
| Utah House | 63 seats | 12 seats | |
| Utah Senate | 24 seats | 5 seats | |
Utah election law
In 2014, the Utah State Legislature passed SB54. The law allows candidates to get on the primary ballot either by party convention or signature gathering. Previously, candidates were placed on the primary ballot through just party conventions. The Utah Republican Party has fought the law in court, arguing that the law limits freedom of association and undermines the party's caucus/convention system. Supporters of the law have argued that it will boost voter turnout and that candidates would be more representative of voters.[1]
Primary challengers in Senate District 10, Senate District 16, and House District 53 utilized the law to challenge GOP incumbents in 2016.
What makes a race notable?
Ballotpedia uses these criteria to identify notable races:
- Incumbents facing more conservative or liberal challengers
- Rematches between candidates
- Races that receive considerable media attention
- Races that could significantly affect the state's partisan balance
- Competitive races involving party leaders
- Open, competitive races with Republican and Democratic primaries
- Races that capture money and attention from outside groups, including key endorsements
Know of an interesting race we should include here? Email us!
Notable primary elections
State Senate District 10
- The Republican incumbent faced a primary challenger.
Incumbent state Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R) ran for re-election. He defeated state Rep. Rich Cunningham (R) in the Republican primary contest. Dan Paget (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
SB54, a law that allows a candidate to gather signatures to get on a primary ballot, allowed Cunningham to challenge Fillmore in the primary. In April 2016, Fillmore won 60 percent of delegates at the Republican county convention, but Cunningham secured 2,000 signatures to challenge Fillmore. Without SB54, Fillmore would have secured the GOP nomination.[2]
State Senate District 16
- The Republican incumbent faced a primary challenger.
Incumbent state Sen. Curtis Bramble (R) ran for re-election. He defeated former state Rep. Christopher Herrod (R) in the Republican primary contest. No Democrat filed to run.
Bramble is a sponsor of SB54, a law that allows a candidate to gather signatures to get on a primary ballot. Herrod opposed the legislation.[3]
Bramble's campaign website highlighted the candidate's support for anti-abortion policies, local control of education, and legislation promoting transparency in state government.[4]
Herrod's campaign website highlighted the candidate's support for local control of education, renewable energy, and reduction of government regulation and state spending.[5]
State House District 34
- Two Republicans competed for an open seat left by the Republican incumbent.
Incumbent state Rep. Johnny Anderson (R) declined to run for re-election. Macade Jensen (R) defeated Jack P. Castellanos (R) in the Republican primary contest. Karen Kwan (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Castellanos' campaign website highlighted the candidate's support for increasing accountability in public education, spurring job growth, and funding transportation projects.[6]
Jensen's campaign website highlighted the candidate's support for eliminating wasteful state spending, limiting the scope of government, and protecting individual rights.[7]
State House District 53
- The Republican incumbent faced a primary challenger.
Incumbent state Rep. Melvin Brown (R) ran for re-election but was defeated by Logan Wilde (R) in the Republican primary contest. Cole R. Capener (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
In April 2016, Brown failed to receive the required 60 percent of delegates at the Republican county convention to avoid facing Wilde in the primary. Brown, however, still defeated Wilde by 18 percentage points among delegates.[8]
State House District 75
- Two Republicans competed for an open seat vacated by the Republican incumbent.
Incumbent state Rep. Don Ipson (R) declined to run for re-election. Walt Brooks (R) defeated Steven D. Kemp (R) in the Republican primary contest. No Democrat filed to run.
In an interview with UtahCandidates.info, Brooks highlighted his support for tax reduction and limited government as well as his opposition to Common Core.[9]
In an interview with St. George News, Kemp highlighted his support for efficiency in state government and state funding for public education, particularly higher education.[10]
Freshman legislators
The following is a list of challengers who won election on November 8.
- Adam Gardiner (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 43
- Carl R. Albrecht (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 70
- Christine Watkins (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 69
- Cory Maloy (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 6
- David Buxton (Republican), .Utah State Senate, District 20
- Elizabeth Weight (Democratic), .Utah House of Representatives, District 31
- Jake Anderegg (Republican), .Utah State Senate, District 13
- Jefferson Moss (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 2
- Karen Kwan (Democratic), .Utah House of Representatives, District 34
- Karianne Lisonbee (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 14
- Kelly Miles (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 11
- Logan Wilde (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 53
- Mike Winder (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 30
- Susan Pulsipher (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 50
- Tim Quinn (Utah) (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 54
- Val Potter (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 3
Defeated incumbents
The following is a list of incumbents who were defeated on November 8.
- Brad King (Democratic), .Utah House of Representatives, District 69
- Sophia DiCaro (Republican), .Utah House of Representatives, District 31
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Deseret News, "Utah GOP to continue legal fight against SB54," June 4, 2016
- ↑ Salt Lake Tribune, "GOP Senate candidates split on SB54 but agree on wide range of issues," June 20, 2016
- ↑ Deseret News, "GOP's hard feelings over SB54 play part in forcing Herbert into primary with Johnson," April 25, 2016
- ↑ Curtis Bramble 2016 campaign website, "Home Page," accessed June 22, 2016
- ↑ Chris Herrod 2016 campaign website, "Issues," accessed June 20, 2016
- ↑ Jack Castellanos 2016 campaign website, "Issues," accessed June 22, 2016
- ↑ Macade Jensen 2016 campaign website, "Views," accessed June 17, 2016
- ↑ Park Record, "Upstart Logan Wilde forces GOP stalwart Mel Brown into a primary," April 26, 2016
- ↑ UtahCandidates.info, "Walt Brooks," June 1, 2016
- ↑ St. George News, "Local businessman Steve Kemp runs for House of Representatives," January 25, 2016
