The United Utah Party (UUP) is a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was founded in 2017 and is active only in the state of

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 ...

. The party identifies itself as politically

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

, and was created out of frustration with the Republican and Democratic parties.

History

Background and formation

Prior to the formation of the United Utah Party,

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-day ...

(BYU) political science professor Richard Davis had considered forming a political party for years. According to Davis, he found people were open to an alternative political party during the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...

. He announced the formation of the party on May 22, 2017. Davis became a chairperson for the party. Jim Bennett, the son of former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Bob Bennett, was the party's executive director until he stepped down to run as the UUP's candidate in a special congressional election to replace

Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Ch ...

. Nils Bergeson, a former U.S. foreign service officer, became the party's second executive director in 2018.

2017 Utah congressional election

On May 26, 2017, Jim Bennett attempted to apply as an affiliated candidate in

Utah's 3rd congressional district special election, 2017 After previously stating that he would not run for re-election, Jason Chaffetz announced on May 19 that he was resigning his seat in the House, effective June 30. A special election was called to replace him with a filing period opening on May ...

, but the lieutenant governor's office rejected the application because the elections office had not had 30 days to finish certifying the new party. Bennett refused to register as an unaffiliated candidate. Utah's elections office certified the party on June 27, 2017. United Utah Party text logo

On June 21, 2017, the UUP filed a lawsuit against Utah state officials to get Bennett's name on the ballot. In court, a Utah state attorney argued that the UUP could have formed earlier to meet the application deadline. A party lawyer argued that only a "soothsayer" could have predicted that Jason Chaffetz would resign from the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. On August 2, 2017, a federal judge in charge of the case ordered Utah election officials to allow Bennett on the ballot under the United Utah Party. In late September 2017, Bennett narrowly qualified to participate in the Utah Debate Commission's selective debate, along with the election's Republican and Democratic candidates, John Curtis and

Kathie Allen After previously stating that he would not run for re-election, Jason Chaffetz announced on May 19 that he was resigning his seat in the House, effective June 30. A special election was called to replace him with a filing period opening on May ...

. The special election was held on November 7, 2017, and Bennett conceded the race hours after the polls closed and initial results showed Curtis winning and Allen getting second place. Bennett got third place with 9.3% of the popular vote.

2018 House of Representatives elections

In February 2018, two UUP candidates announced they would run for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

: Jan Garbett and

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin ...

native Eric Eliason, who challenged Republicans Chris Stewart and

Rob Bishop Robert William Bishop (born July 13, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he became the dean of Utah's congressional delegation after the retirement of O ...

respectively. On March 20, 2018, the United Utah Party held caucuses at 19 locations with attendance of just over 900 people, when the party had just over 400 registered members. Garbett later withdrew from the race. Eliason was defeated, receiving 11.6% of the vote as Rob Bishop was reelected to what would become his final term.

2020 elections

Candidates

2022 elections

Candidates

Political positions

According to former UUP chairman Richard Davis, the party's platform is mostly based on laws and principles, rather than specific social positions. He told ''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' that the party supports term limits, stricter campaign-finance laws, efforts to stop

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

, and increased school funding. The party's platform also includes enforcing

immigration laws Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

"with compassion," and generally opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

with specific exceptions. The party believes that

public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countrie ...

s can be preserved while still allowing economic development. The UUP supports the right of responsible gun owners to possess firearms. The UUP supports efforts to stop using taxpayer money in the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's United States House of Representatives ...

closed primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

elections. On December 1, 2017, the party called for greater transparency regarding sexual harassment allegations on Capitol Hill. In January 2018, the UUP announced support for the "Our Schools Now" initiative, a proposed

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...

meant to increase funding for education.

References

External links

* * {{Utah political parties 2017 establishments in Utah Centrist political parties in the United States Political parties established in 2017 Regional and state political parties in Utah Political parties in the United States