The 2016 United States Senate election in Utah took place on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the

United States Senate 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 pow ...

to represent 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 ...

, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to 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 ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. The primaries took place on June 28.

Misty Snow Misty Kathrine Snow (born July 19, 1985) is an American political candidate who was one of the first openly transgender people in the United States to have been nominated by a major political party for a federal office. Snow was the Democratic nom ...

won the Democratic nomination, becoming the first

transgender woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

in the history of the United States to become a major party's nominee for the Senate. Incumbent

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 ...

Senator

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...

won re-election to a second term in office.

Republican primary

It was thought that Lee, a

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

Republican, might face a primary challenge from a member of the more establishment wing of the Party following his role in the unpopular 2013 federal government shutdown, which caused his approval ratings to drop precipitously. However, since that time, his approval ratings rose significantly. Changes to Utah's primary system could adversely affect Lee's chances at renomination. Presently, Utah political parties hold conventions, where delegates attend and vote for candidates. Only if a candidate fails to gain at least 60% of the vote do the top two finishers proceed to a statewide primary election. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, incumbent senator Bob Bennett finished third at the convention behind Lee and businessman Tim Bridgewater and was eliminated, with Lee defeating Bridgewater in the subsequent primary election. Lee's approval rating is much higher among the smaller group of more conservative convention delegates and a recent change in the law, backed by the group Count My Vote, allows candidates to bypass the convention by collecting signatures to advance to the primary. Thus, a less conservative challenger could challenge Lee in the primary, appealing to more moderate Republican and unaffiliated voters, who could participate in the primary. The constitutionality of the changes have been challenged in court by 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 ...

. One possible challenger to Lee was former

governor of Utah A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and former

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

Mike Leavitt Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Utah, 14th Governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003 in the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, as Administrator of the E ...

, one of the founders of Count My Vote, though he eventually denied interest in running. An effort to draft Huntsman Sr.'s son, Jon Huntsman Jr., the former

, former

United States Ambassador to China The United States Ambassador to China is the chief United States, American United States Ambassador, diplomat to China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cush ...

under Barack Obama and a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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, was unsuccessful, with Huntsman ruling out a run against Lee.

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent senator

Declined

Lane Beattie Lane Beattie is an American businessman and politician from the state of Utah. Beattie served in the Utah Senate from 1989 through 2000, representing the 23rd Utah Senate District. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 1993 through 1994 and ...

, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and former president of the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of senate districts. Each senate district is ...

* A. Scott Anderson, president and CEO of

Zions Bank Zions Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Zions Bancorporation originated as Keystone Insurance and Investment Co., a Utah Corporation, in April 1955. In April 1960, Keystone, together with several in ...

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 ...

, U.S. Representative * Spencer Cox,

Lieutenant Governor of Utah The office of the lieutenant governor of Utah was created in 1975. Nine people have held the position since then. Prior to the creation of the lieutenant governor's office, the succession to the governorship of Utah was held by the Utah Secretary ...

* Alex Dunn, president of

Vivint Vivint is a public smart home company in the United States and Canada. It was founded by Keith Nellesen and Todd Pedersen in 1999. In 2012, The Blackstone Group acquired Vivint for more than $2 billion. In January 2020, the company completed ...

Jon Huntsman, Jr. Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. (born March 26, 1960) is an American businessman, diplomat and politician who served as the 16th Governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Ambassador of the United States to ...

, former

under Barack Obama and

for

* Kirk Jowers, director of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Hinckley Institute of Politics *

, former

and former

Dan Liljenquist Daniel R. Liljenquist (born July 10, 1974) is an American businessman and politician who served one term in the Utah State Senate. Early life and education Born in Nashville to Dr. John E. Liljenquist and Colleen Redford Liljenquist, he spent ...

, former state senator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 *

Aaron Osmond Aaron Virl Osmond (born October 31, 1969) is a former Republican member of the Utah Senate, representing the 10th district.

, state senator * Sean Reyes,

Attorney General of Utah The Attorney General of Utah is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the state government of Utah. The attorney general is the chief legal officer and legal adviser in the state. The office is elected, with a term of four ye ...

* Josh Romney, real estate developer and son of

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

* Chris Stewart, U.S. Representative * Thomas Wright, former chairman of the

Endorsements

Democratic primary

Candidates

Jonathan Swinton was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate, filing on August 10. The other candidates filing for the nomination were Craig Oliver, Jade Tuan Quoc Vo, and Misty K. Snow. Snow filed on March 3. Oliver withdrew before the state convention. Vo was eliminated in the first round of balloting. Swinton faced criticism at the April 23 state convention from delegates who said he was pro-life, a criticism based primarily on Swinton's September 26 op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune in which he describes himself as a "conservative Democrat" and "pro-life" while also calling for "a full investigation of Planned Parenthood." Swinton tried unsuccessfully to avoid discussing his views on abortion at the state convention. After two rounds of balloting, neither Snow nor Swinton received the 60% of the vote they needed to secure the Democratic nomination. As a result, the two faced off in a June 28 primary, which Snow won.

Declared

* Misty K. Snow, cashier * Jonathan Swinton, marriage and family therapist

Eliminated at Convention

* Jade Tuan Quoc Vo

Withdrawn

* Craig Oliver

Declined

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 ...

, former U.S. Representative * Ben McAdams, Mayor of

Salt Lake County 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 coun ...

and former state senator *

Doug Owens Doug Owens is an American politician from Utah that represents District 33 in the Utah House of Representatives. He ran for Congress twice for Utah's 4th District. He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in this district in 2014 and 2016, an ...

, attorney, son of former Congressman

Wayne Owens Douglas Wayne Owens (May 2, 1937 – December 18, 2002) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Utah's 2nd congressional district from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1993. Career Born and ra ...

, and nominee for

Utah's 4th congressional district Utah's 4th congressional district is a congressional district created by the state legislature as a result of reapportionment by Congress after the 2010 Census showed population increases in the state relative to other states. Prior to 2010 rea ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

( running for UT-04)

= Polling

= A Dan Jones & Associates poll for UtahPolicy.com showed Snow leading with Democratic voters 33% to Swinton's 20%, as well as with independent voters, 23% to Swinton's 10%. The majority of the voters that were surveyed were undecided. The survey was administered from May 2–10, 2016 to 588 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.04%.

Primary results

Third Party and Independent Candidates

* Bill Barron (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

), candidate for the U.S. Senate in

and candidate for UT-02 in

* Stoney Fonua (Independent American)

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

;with Jonathan Swinton ;with Jim Matheson ;with Doug Owens ;Open primary

Results

References

External links

;Official campaign websites
Mike Lee (R) for Senate

Misty Snow (D) for Senate
{{2016 United States elections

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