- Michelle Quist is expected to chair the United Utah Party and Forward Party once they merge.
- Quist ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2024 as the United Utah nominee.
- The platforms of both parties focus on government process instead of policy outcomes.
Utah’s newest political party announced its first leader on Tuesday.
Former Utah attorney general candidate Michelle Quist will chair the newly merged United Utah/Forward Party upon final approval from party members at their convention on Saturday.
“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to serve Utah,” Quist said in a press release. “The legacy two-party system has left behind the common sense majority of voters. That’s why building a truly viable alternate option is so critical to both Utah and the Nation at large.”
Quist ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2024 as the nominee for the United Utah Party and was also endorsed by the Forward Party. She secured just over 7% of the vote in the general election.
Quist works as an attorney at Buchalter in Salt Lake City. Prior to pursuing elected office, Quist served as a Utah State Bar commissioner and as secretary of the Utah Republican Party from 2013-2015.
As a candidate, Quist drew a contrast with the Republican Party under President Donald Trump, which she said had alienated many women and moderate voters. She also strays from the GOP platform in opposing abortion restrictions.
The United Utah Party, which operates only in Utah, emerged in 2017 out of frustration with the state’s Republican supermajority for allegedly moving to the right and for limiting access for candidates to get on the ballot.
The party’s platform “is not ideological,” and does not include firm stances on most issues, but instead outlines principles of transparency, free market solutions and increasing voter access.
Similarly, the Forward Party, formed in 2021 by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, is not based on rigid policy goals.
Instead, the organization focuses on election processes like ranked choice voting that the party says decreases partisanship and promotes problem solving.
Last month, Utah Sen. Dan Thatcher became the first state lawmaker to leave the Republican Party to join the Forward Party, citing what he saw as a growing divide between what regular Utahns want and what elected representatives were doing in a polarized political environment.
In response to Thatcher’s announcement, which came on the final day of the 2025 legislative session, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he supported Thatcher’s decision.
“I think it’s healthy. We have different ideas,” Adams said.
Neither the United Utah Party or the Forward Party appears to have ever nominated a candidate that has gone on to win a general election in Utah.
The governing body of the merged United Utah Party-Forward Party will include members who previously served on the respective parties’ executive committees.