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Fred LaVar Christensen (born August 18, 1953), known as LaVar Christensen, is an American politician from
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, who served as a Republican state representative from the state's 48th district. He served from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2006, and again from January 1, 2011, through 2018.


Early life and career

Christensen was born in Fontana, California and raised in
Upland, California Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States on the border with neighboring Los Angeles County. The municipality is located at an elevation of 1,242 feet (379 m). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 79,040 ...
but his family is originally from Utah. His parents were James LaMar Christensen (1928-1988) and Glenna (nee Simmons) Christensen (1928-2017). His younger brother, James Michael Christensen, passed away in 2006 at age 49. Another brother, Stephen LaMar Christensen (b. 1949), is the father of former Major League Baseball player
McKay Christensen McKay Andrew Christensen (born August 14, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Christensen played for three different ballclubs during his career: the Chicago White Sox (1999–2001), Los Angeles Dodgers (2001), and New York Mets ( ...
. His great-great-grandfather, Nathaniel H. Felt, was a member of Utah’s first territorial House of Representatives. Christensen is an attorney with a legal background in real estate development. He received his B.A. degree from
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...
and his Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific,
McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on t ...
in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
. While in law school, he was a legislative assistant for the Governor of California and student intern for Judge Rothwell B. Mason. He is married to Susan Kay Christensen. They have three children. Christensen is a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
.


Political career

Christensen was the
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominee for
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
in
Utah's 2nd congressional district Utah's 2nd congressional district currently serves Salt Lake City and the largely rural western and southern portions of Utah, including Saint George and Tooele. The current U.S. House Representative is Republican Chris Stewart. A map of cur ...

map
. Christensen was defeated by the incumbent,
Jim Matheson James David Matheson (born March 21, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Representative from Utah from 2001 to 2015. He represented Utah's 2nd district from 2001 to 2013 and its from 2013 to 2015 as a member of the De ...
, in the 2006 mid-term election and subsequently left the Utah House of Representatives. However, Christensen filed his candidacy with the Lieutenant Governor's office in March 2008 to run for the same Utah House seat he vacated in 2006. In May 2008, he defeated the incumbent, Representative Sylvia Andersen, who took over the seat in 2006, at that year's GOP nominating convention and was the party's nominee in the general election for that cycle. Christensen was elected to the
Utah State House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district con ...
(District 48 in Sandy/Draper) in 2002. His committee assignments included Vice-Chair of Education, Budget Appropriations for Public Education, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice; Chair of Judicial Rules Review Committee and member of the Constitutional Revision Commission. 2006 While Christensen won in several lesser-populated counties, he lost in traditional Republican strongholds, such as San Juan County, Daggett County, and Emery County. He lost the largest county:
Salt Lake County, Utah Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The cou ...
by 49,264 votes and was unable to make up such a large vote deficit. Christensen campaigned in 2006 as the Republican candidate in a traditionally Republican district. Like Matheson's Republican challengers in the past, Christensen's advertisements focused primarily on party affiliation and national issues. His campaign motto was "America Needs Utah". His advertisements frequently mentioned that Nancy Pelosi would become Speaker of the House if the Democrats won a majority. 2008 Christensen's opponent in 2008 for Utah State House District 48 was Trisha Beck, who narrowly defeated him. 2010 Christensen challenged Trish Beck again in 2010, this time winning the general election by 652 votes. 2012 Christensen defeated Austin Linford in the Republican convention and faced Democratic Party nominee Alain Balmanno in the general election. Christensen won with 10,940 votes (66.8%) to Balmanno's 5,426 (33.2%). 2014 Christensen again defeated Austin Linford in the Republican convention and faced Democratic Party nominee Alain Balmanno in the general election. Christensen won with 5,915 votes (63.9%) to Balmanno's 3,340 (36.1%). 2016 Christensen was challenged by Democrat Suzanne Harrison in the 2016 general election. Initial returns indicated a win for Harrison, but final vote tallies gave Christensen the win by just 3 votes. As of November 29, 2016, Harrison had formally requested a recount, which was expected to be completed by December 6, 2016. During the 2016 general session, Christensen served on the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, the House Education Committee and as committee chair of the House Judiciary Committee.


2016 sponsored legislation

Christensen passed six of the ten bills he introduced, giving him a 60% passage rate. However, one of his bills that passed the Legislature was vetoed by the Governor. He also floor sponsore
SB0079S04 Child Welfare Revisions


Political positions

In the Utah state legislature, Christensen had a relatively conservative voting record. He consistently fought against same-sex marriage and for pro-life causes. Christensen supports making the 2001 federal tax cuts permanent, supports easing restrictions on oil exploration in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildli ...
, and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.Lavar for Congress
/ref> Christensen wrote a paper supporting his Constitutional Amendment for the Sutherland Institute. In this document, Christensen outlined his argument for Utah's successful Constitutional Amendment banning
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
. He was named 2005 Statesman of the Year by the Salt Lake County Republican Party. Christensen also sponsored legislation that recognizes and strengthens parental rights in Utah as well as civic and character education in Utah's public schools.


References


External links


Official campaign site


{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Lavar Living people Latter Day Saints from Utah People from Upland, California Brigham Young University alumni University of the Pacific (United States) alumni Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives 1953 births 21st-century American politicians Latter Day Saints from California