SALT LAKE CITY — He knows it’s a long shot.
Ammon Gruwell, a United Utah candidate, is running against one of the most powerful Utah Republicans in the state: House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville.
As a third-party candidate up against a well-funded legislative leader in District 15, where Wilson has had solid voter support, Gruwell knows it’s a tough race to run.
“It’s definitely a David and Goliath story,” Gruwell acknowledged in a recent interview with the Deseret News, saying Wilson has seemed to “coast to reelection” for years. “It’s definitely intimidating. ... But he should be just as accountable to his constituents as any member of the Legislature.”
The platform of the United Utah Party is based on moving away from a two-party system and partisanship. Gruwell said he’s hoping to attract moderate voters from both the left and right because he’s “passionate about making our political system better.”
Wilson, who won reelection in 2018 with nearly 77% of the vote against Democrat Rich Miller, welcomed the competition, saying it’s “always good to have different ideas” shared during an election. He acknowledged he’s had wide support throughout his time in office.
“I come from a very conservative area of the state, and I’ve had a lot of support over the last 10 years,” Wilson said. “I suspect and hope that will continue.”
The biggest reason Gruwell said he decided to run against the speaker was because he “felt like the Utah Legislature wasn’t listening to voters anymore,” pointing to the collection of voter-approved propositions the Legislature altered, including a ballot initiative for medical marijuana and a proposition aimed at battling gerrymandering.
But most recently — and what’s fired up some support for Gruwell — is a group opposed to the Utah’s tax reform package. The group had so much support, it successfully collected enough signatures to put it on the ballot, leading lawmakers to repeal the package in a special session.
Still, that group hasn’t forgotten which lawmakers supported the package. And they’ve thrown their support behind candidates like Gruwell to unseat those legislators.
Gruwell noted they haven’t “officially” endorsed him or any candidate, but they’ve been “really active” in promoting his campaign on social media, and he’s received “hundreds of dollars” in donations from individual members of their group.
Gruwell isn’t alone. In fact, the group already helped unseat at least one lawmaker: Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, who sponsored the tax reform legislation. Republican Chris Wilson beat Hillyard in the GOP primary. Now he’s running against Democrat Nancy Huntly for his District 25 seat.
House Majority Whip Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, who helped push the tax reform package, is also facing a United Utah candidate: Shawn Ferriola. However, the group didn’t have a candidate to back to run against House Majority Leader Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, the House sponsor of the tax reform bill. Gibson is running again for his District 65 seat unopposed.
Wilson disputes the notion that legislators weren’t listening to their constituents when it came to adjustments to voter propositions or the passage of the tax reform bill. He accused tax reform opponents of spreading “misleading” information about the package, which was designed to address what state leaders called a “structural imbalance” between education and general funds. If it had remained intact, Utahns would have paid less in income tax but more in sales tax on food, gas and some services.
“That was the second-largest overall tax cut in state history, and the largest for individuals,” Wilson said. “Republicans and the Legislature have constantly been working to keep taxes low ... and that will not change and has not changed. And any narrative to the contrary is revision to history and is false.”
Wilson said “we live in a time and day when people can twist the truth, and that’s what a lot of people are doing right now, and it’s unfortunate.”
“But the reason Utah has got the best economy in the country, the reason we have tremendous prosperity and all the benefits of being here is because we’ve kept government small,” Wilson said. “And I know the members of my caucus are committed to continuing to doing that, and anything said contrary is incorrect.”
Tax reform became a hot issue in some other legislative races — but for an inaccurate reason.
The Utah Democratic Party sent mailers targeting Reps. Mike Winder, Steve Eliason and Crag Hall, saying they “did nothing to stop” their caucus from voting to “raise our taxes.” In actuality, all three Republican lawmakers voted against the legislation.
The mailer was condemned by Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike. Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, tweeted she was “disappointed” the Utah Democratic Party would “stoop this low.”
“The (Democratic) candidates running in these districts are honest hard working people,” Romero tweeted on Thursday. “Their races have been tainted by the idiot that thought this was a good idea.”
Winder, R-West Valley City, is being challenged by Democrat Robert Burch Jr. Eliason, R-Sandy, is up against Democrat Wendy Davis. Hall, R-West Valley City, is competing against Democrat Fatima Dirie.
Other legislative races
In total, Utah has 90 legislative races up for election: all 75 House seats and 15 Senate seats.
Some races are likely to be competitive, based on results from the last election two years ago.
Just 118 votes separated Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, from his Democratic opponent in 2018. This year, Democrat Ashlee Matthews is fighting to take his District 38 seat.
Rep. Steve Waldrip, R-Eden, won against his Democratic challenger by only 214 votes in 2018 for his District 8 seat. This year, he’s up against Democrat Oscar Landon Mata to keep it.
Rep. Cheryl Acton, R-West Jordan, won by 397 votes against her Democratic challenger in 2018. This year, she’s facing United Utah candidate Jefferson Bardin and Democrat Diane Lewis.
In the Senate, 11 incumbents are running to keep their seats, including five who are running unopposed. Four seats are up for grabs after the incumbents either decided not to run, or were unseated at convention or in the primary.
Sen. Deidre Henderson, R-Spanish Fork, vacated her seat to run as Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox’s running mate in his bid to be Utah’s next governor. Rep. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, is making a bid for Henderson’s District 7 seat, up against United Utah candidate Emily Bergeson.
Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, didn’t file for reelection, leaving his District 19 seat up for grabs. Democrat Katy Owens is running against Republican John Johnson for the post.
Sen. Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe, didn’t run again, leaving his seat District 24 seat vacant. Rep. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, is vying to take his place in the Senate, up against Independent American candidate Warren Rogers.
In the House, 62 incumbents are running to keep their seats, including 12 who are running unopposed. Thirteen seats are up for grabs, either left vacant or their incumbent unseated at convention or in the primary.
Rep. Val Potter, R-North Logan, was unseated by District 3 voters in the GOP primary. Republican Mike Petersen is competing against Democrat Holly Gunther to replace him.
Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, was also unseated from his District 60 seat at the GOP convention. Independent American candidate Tommy Williams, United Utah candidate Christine Heath, and Republican Nelson Abbott are competing to take his place.
Reps. Kyle Andersen, R-North Ogden; Susan Duckworth, D-Magna; Lee Perry, R-Perry; Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek; Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan; Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights; Tim Quinn, R-Heber City; Logan Wilde, R-Croydon; Marc Roberts, R-Bluffdale, Owens; and McKell left their seats up for grabs, attracting a wide field of candidates including Republicans, Democrats and third party candidates.