2026 Candidates Have Entered the Chat

Rob Bishop Is Back. Lisonbee’s Swan Song. It’s Only January.

Take a second to imagine if you could see through the inversion….

Welcome to 2026! It’s been 16 days. Which feels, at the same time, fake and aggressive.

And that means that Utah’s 2026 election cycle is officially underway. Candidate filing closed last week, which means the lists are locked, the doors are shut, and everyone pretending they weren’t running has officially stopped lying. And you might be thinking, elections are basically a year away… why is Elevate telling me about this now?

Well, unfortunately it’s time to lock in because this matters more than you might think.

A few years ago, the Legislature moved candidate filing from March to early January. This was all in a move (we think) for lawmakers to walk into the legislative session knowing exactly who’s trying to take their job. Accountability shows up early, grabs a seat in the gallery, and refuses to be ignored.

When that happens, behavior changes. Votes get more theatrical. Speeches get longer. Some lawmakers suddenly rediscover moderation and bipartisanship. And none of that is accidental.

So yes, some of us are currently staring at the calendar, whispering “five more days until Legislative Session” like it’s a countdown to either Christmas or a natural disaster (which we think accurately describes the Session). And we’re ready. Very ready. We’ve got bill breakdowns. Trackers. Graphs and charts. Tea (the gossip kind). And a Costco-sized stockpile of Red Bull waiting in our office. This is our Super Bowl, and we did not come to play.

But before we dive headfirst into the session, the bills, and the inevitable “point of order” moments, it’s worth zooming out. Because what the candidate filing revealed is not business as usual and it will set the stage for the rest of the year.

This year, that pressure is landing on a Legislature already dealing with internal divisions, leadership drama, and a truly impressive number of contested seats.

So welcome to the octagon!

The Republican Party Is in Disarray

Utah Republicans are heading into this legislative session with a problem they haven’t had to deal with in a long time: they’re fighting each other. Loudly. From all sides. (Get out the popcorn, everybody!).

Across the state, incumbents are staring down primaries, convention battles, and challengers popping up from directions they are absolutely not used to checking. Establishment Republicans are bracing for attacks from their right. Hardliners are scrambling for attention. And personal grudges that used to stay politely buried in caucus meetings are now fully public and extremely online.

That alone would be disruptive. What makes this cycle different is who is getting challenged. And, GOP leadership is no longer insulated.

Speaker of the House Mike Schultz is facing challengers from every party, an unusual situation for someone in the top leadership role:

• Shawn Ferriola (F)

• Dava Ann Neal (R)

• Anna Graff (D)

Meanwhile, Stuart Adams, who has had a bit of a year already and has never had a primary challenge, is dealing with a truly ambitious lineup of five opponents:

• Braden Hess (R)

• Jennifer Garner (R)

• Stephanie Hollist (R)

• Jeffrey Ostler (C)

• Garret Rushforth (D)

Then there’s the subplot nobody asked for, but everyone is watching: sitting Republican House members challenging sitting Republican Senators.

Freshman Rep. Doug Fiefia taking on Sen. Dan McCay is objectively dramatic. These two now have to “work together” during the legislative session while actively trying to end each other’s careers. Can’t wait to see how Doug’s bills fare in the Senate this year (hint: we’d bet not too well).

And it doesn’t stop there.

Jordan Teuscher – the architect of the infamous HB267, the ban on collective bargaining for public sector labor unions, and so much more – is being challenged by:

• Scott Stephenson (R) - Executive Director of the Utah Fraternal Order of Police.

• Jess Birtcher (D)

The head of the largest police union in the state primarying the legislator who has spent years weakening unions is just *chef’s kiss*.

Trevor Lee – who does not need or deserve an introduction – is boxed in from both sides:

• Bob Stevenson (R) - Current Davis County Commissioner, former Layton mayor and city councilor

• Abigail Treasure (D)

Ken Ivory, champion of banning books and the Snakeoil Salesman of Utah, is also dealing with a crowded and serious field:

• Lisa Dean (R)

• Ryan Jackson (R)

• Drew Howells (D)

• Kevin Seal (D)

• Sarah Brough (D)

Brady Brammer, the man who is on a mission to politicize and destroy the judiciary, is facing pressure from every angle:

• Kelly Smith (R) - Cedar Hills City Council member

• Kandee Myers (D)

• Wayne Woodfield (F)

• Seth Stewart (R)

This kind of internal chaos doesn’t stay contained to election season. It bleeds directly into governing. When lawmakers are more focused on surviving their own party (especially a delegate convention) than serving the public, priorities warp fast, and problem-solving takes a back seat to posturing.

And this doesn’t even include the many competitive districts that will surely bring some upsets, surprises, and maybe even some flips. In the meantime, the supermajority is still here. But the unity that made it effective certainly is not.

The Exit Ramp Is Backed Up (That’s Weird?)

Amid all the primary drama and filing-week chaos, there’s another signal that matters just as much: a lot of incumbents quietly decided they were done.

This cycle saw an unusually large wave of incumbents step aside across parties, chambers, and offices. Now, some are retiring, some are running for something else, some are clearly exhausted by a body that has grown louder, harsher, and more internally combative by the year.

In a Legislature built on incumbency advantage, people don’t usually walk away unless something has shifted.

And this isn’t confined to one party or one chamber. The exits span House and Senate seats, urban and suburban districts, and leadership-adjacent roles. That kind of turnover creates volatility, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.

Open seats are where power actually moves. They’re cheaper to compete in, attract more candidates, scramble party hierarchies, weaken leadership’s ability to control outcomes. And they tend to produce legislators who aren’t as beholden to the “this is how we’ve always done it” crowd.

Here are some of the most notable elected officials who are not running for re-election:

State House of Representatives

• Matthew Gwynn (R) – House District 6

  • Nine-term congressman and eight-term state lawmaker and sponsor of the effort to overturn Prop 4, Rob Bishop is back and is running to replace Gwynn. Kerry Wayne (R), Brad Barrowes (R), and James Rich (Forward) have also filed.

• Jill Koford – House District 10

  • Not seeking re-election; running instead for Senate District 5. With former Rep. Rosemary Lesser running to take back HD10, Koford’s move raises obvious questions about whether this was a strategic exit from a difficult House race or an opportunistic bid for an open Senate seat vacated by Sen. Ann Millner. Or both!

• Karen Peterson (R) – House District 13

• Karianne Lisonbee (R) – House District 14

  • Utah’s famous advocate of women controlling their intake of semen, who recently lost her leadership position and has been on a tirade against her fellow caucus members ever since. Her final session, her swan song if you will, is sure to entertain and, likely, horrify.

• Stuart Barlow (R) – House District 17

• Sandra Hollins (D) – House District 21

  • Utah’s first Black female lawmaker.

• Bridger Bolinder (R) – House District 29

• Carol Spackman Moss (D) – House District 34

  • The longest-serving Utah Legislator has decided to retire.

• Cheryl Acton (R) – House District 38

• Doug Fiefia (R) – House District 48

  • Not running for reelection; running against Senator Dan McCay

• Mike Kohler (R) – House District 59

• Tyler Clancy (R) – House District 60

  • Being appointed the state’s homelessness czar at the end of this session.

• Christine Watkins (R) – House District 67

State Senate

• Ann Milner (R) – Senate District 5

• Jerry Stevenson (R) – Senate District 6

• Nate Blouin (D) – Senate District 13

  • Running for Congress

County & Other Offices

• Aimee Winder Newton (R) – Salt Lake County Council District 3

  • Conveniently not running after being embroiled in a scandal relating to the closures of childcare facilities and senior centers in Salt Lake County. Mike Bird (R),Jared Eborn (D), Luke Maynes (D) have filed to replace her.

• Sheldon Stewart (R) – Salt Lake County Council District 5

  • Salt Lake County Republican Party Chair, Chris Null, has filed to replace Stewart, along with Traci Crockett (R), Jared Esselman (R), and Sara Cimmers (D).

• Christina Boggess (R) – Utah State Board of Education

  • In her own words: “I declare, without apology or hesitation, that I will not seek re-election to the Utah State Board of Education. I am done lending my name, my vote, and my silence to a broken, corrupt, and morally bankrupt system that no longer serves the children or families of this state. Instead, I have been forced to watch as even the loudest “conservative” voices fold, trade their votes for favor and money, or abandon every promise they made on the campaign trail. The Republican Party platform means nothing inside those walls. The Word of the Lord means even less. Your concerns—about pornography in libraries, radical gender ideology in classrooms, the erosion of academic excellence, and the assault on parental rights—are mocked, ignored, or drowned out by the shrill demands of special interests and the timid silence of those who fear losing their seat more than losing their soul. I will not play this game any longer. I refuse to be a prop in their theatre of fake reform. My final message to every parent in Utah is blunt and urgent: Get your children out of Utah’s government schools as quickly as possible. Real change is not coming. The system is not broken—it is working exactly as the corrupt intend it to work. Your children’s minds, hearts, and futures are not safe inside it. With unyielding resolve and unwavering love for the families of District 8, Christina Boggess”

  • Now THAT is a mic drop. Bye, Christina 👋

Meanwhile, Someone Did the Homework

While Republicans were busy fighting each other, Democrats spent the filing week doing something far less dramatic and far more consequential: they ran candidates. Everywhere.

For the 2026 cycle, Utah Democrats filed candidates in 88 of 98 races statewide, just over 90 percent coverage. That’s the strongest and broadest Democratic slate Utah has seen in nearly two decades. Not just in Salt Lake County. Not just in the usual swing districts. Urban, suburban, rural, multi-county seats. Legislative races. Education races. Down-ballot races that rarely get attention but shape people’s lives anyway.

And even as proud Blutah truthers, no, Utah did not flip blue overnight. But it does mean we get to see what it means when Democrats actually put up a fight. When Democrats have baseline numbers of how we can perform in places that have been overlooked and unopposed for years. And in a likely Democratic wave year, who knows what could happen?

As Utah Democratic Party Chair, Brian King, put it, Democrats are running “where we have historically been underrepresented and even uncontested.” Uncontested races aren’t neutral. They’re how incumbents drift toward extremism with no consequences.

Just as important: this slate isn’t thin. There are multiple Democratic candidates in dozens of races, including contested primaries for State House, State Senate, and State Board of Education seats. And they are qualified, smart, and ready to run full scale campaigns. I think I’d call that a bench!

So… Yeah. This Is the Year

Let’s zoom out for a second.

In the span of one filing week, Utah politics did three things it almost never does at the same time:

• a bunch of people in power decided to leave,

• a bunch of people in power started fighting each other, and

• a bunch of people who usually don’t get to play showed up anyway.

That’s not a wave (yet). But it is a shift in pressure.

This isn’t about one race or one bill or one party suddenly “winning.” It’s about the fact that the ground is less solid than it was a year ago. And when the ground moves, even a little, everyone adjusts. You can already see it coming.

Lawmakers are walking into session knowing their votes will be replayed back to them. Leadership is trying to project control while quietly counting noses. Open seats are inviting ambition, resurrected politicians, and people who didn’t wait their turn. And Democrats are actually testing the map instead of assuming it hates them.

Huh, that’s pretty interesting.

So yes, while we’re mostly dreading what’s about to happen on Capitol Hill, there’s also something we’re genuinely excited about heading into this session. Not because everything is suddenly going to get better. It probably won’t. But because everything is going to be harder to fake.

Harder to slip nonsense through quietly. Harder to posture without consequences. Harder to pretend no one is paying attention.

Because now, people are watching. We’re watching. You’re watching.

And if this is how the year starts, then the rest of 2026 is going to be interesting in a way Utah politics hasn’t been in a long time.

If you made it this far, thank you. And we will be here covering every bill and every major development during the session.

If this work is useful to you, consider making a donation to support it. Your contribution helps fund our coverage throughout the legislative session (and our Redbull).

Let’s get to work.