After Tuesday night’s election, Derek Brown is expected to assume the Office of Attorney General for Utah in January.
Brown, a Republican, began his run for the office in winter of 2023, planning to challenge current Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes in the primary. But then Reyes dropped out, so Brown ran for the open seat.
Now Brown is expected to take over the Utah Attorney General’s Office come January. Here’s a closer look at who he is.
Brown’s bio
A graduate of Brigham Young University and later the law school at Pepperdine University, Brown is married to his wife Emilie. The couple have four children together and enjoy music.
Here’s a look at some of what Brown has done in his legal and political career:
- Brown clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
- He practiced constitutional and appellate law at Sidley Austin and also he practiced appellate law at Mayer Brown.
- He was the editor-in-chief at Pepperdine Law Review.
- Brown served as legal counsel to two U.S. senators: Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch.
- He was the deputy chief of staff and Utah’s state director for Sen. Mike Lee.
- He was a member of the state House of Representatives (District 49).
- Brown was Utah GOP chair.
Brown’s priorities as Utah attorney general
On the campaign trail and on the debate stage, Brown has said he was running for Utah attorney general because of his kids Alex, Zak, Eliza and Spencer.
He talked about building a better Utah for generations to come. He said his top priorities were protecting the most vulnerable among us, claw back Utah’s land from the federal government, push back against the federal government and hold big tech and big pharma accountable.
Brown has said he intends on continuing holding social media companies accountable for harms to children. He also plans to keep going on Utah’s landmark lawsuit that was filed to take control of some of Utah’s public lands.
About the social media litigation, Brown said during the primary that he thought “the underlying grounds and the underlying basis on which they are filed is sound.”
When it comes to the landmark lawsuit Utah filed to get back some of Utah’s public lands, he said during the attorney general debate that it was “critical that as a state we have the ability to control (the land) and not individuals who are unaccountable 1,800 miles away.”
In addition to his takes on the issues the office faces, Brown has indicated he wants to turn a new page and make the office more transparent. He said he would make his calendar public and also establish a constituent service program where people can go to if they have issues.
“When I was the state party chair, I always erred on the side of divulging more information to party members than less, because I felt like, then, you’re rarely criticized when people understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, and when they understand what you’re doing,” said Brown.
What others have said about Derek Brown
- State Rep. Jordan Teuscher: “He is one that doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, but tells you what you need to hear. And can do it in a way that everyone likes him.”
- Sen. Mike Lee: “I’ve fought side-by-side with Derek on conservative issues for 20 years. I trust Derek Brown as attorney general to fight back and win.”
- Former Democratic attorney general candidate Greg Skordas: “If I ran against Derek Brown, I would vote for Derek Brown.”
To read more about Derek Brown, see this profile of him.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said The Associated Press had called the race for Brown, but as of 2:30 a.m. MT Wednesday, they had not. Brown was 30 points ahead of his nearest opponent.