About Our Candidate Guides
Our measuring stick: the values and attributes we’re looking for in our political candidates.
The Network of Utah Moderates is a group of ordinary, politically engaged Utahns who want a bright future for our state and all the people in it.
2026 is a big election year. Right now we’re focused on an ambitious project: helping our neighbors and friends understand important information about candidates running for office. Finding good information on political candidates can require some digging—so we’ve started digging for you.
Our goal is to provide accurate, reliable information so that you can decide who will best represent you.
We seek candidates who demonstrate leadership through:
A commitment to the public good and remaining accountable to constituents, not just party leaders or delegates.
Respect towards constituents, opponents, and others.
Willingness to put in the work to do a good job.
Interest in basing decisions on good data, not merely ideology.
A commitment to creating and upholding just laws and Constitutional checks and balances.
We aim to provide accurate, balanced information. But—this is important—we are not trying to be perfectly neutral. We’re not a nonprofit. We’re your neighbors. And we believe you deserve to know the truth.
Why we’re writing these guides
Some of us have interacted with Utah’s political leaders for years. We’re concerned about some of these politicians’ actions in and out of office. Many Utahns feel the same.
When we feel a leader misses the mark on representing our state well, we want to be upfront about why.
That said, we’ll try to recommend every candidate who meets our standards, regardless of party. We recognize that good and bad leaders come in all political stripes. Sometimes we may not recommend any candidates in a race; sometimes we’ll recommend more than one.
Factors we consider when recommending candidates:
For these guides, we’re primarily looking at character. There can be good candidates across the political spectrum who fit these “moderate” values. While we each hold policy preferences, we’re not looking to evaluate the majority of policy platforms.
Instead of being policy-specific, we’re looking for:
Commitment to values like respect for law and human dignity, demonstrated integrity, thoughtful and respectful engagement, and a commitment to the common good.
Multi-partisanship. We prefer leaders who show willingness to work across the political aisle and represent alltheir constituents.
Relevant qualifications. We value candidates with relevant experience, a record of service, and demonstrated commitment to acting ethically.
Personal recommendations. These guides include insights from a few dozen politically-active Utahns who have personally met or worked with many current office-holders and many of these candidates . At times, those interactions may sway us for or against a candidate.
Share your insights!
We would love to cover as many races as possible.
If you have time to research and write up a candidate guide, or have information and insights about candidates and important races in your area, please reach out to networkofutahmoderates@gmail.com and let us know!