Utah House District 16 Republican Primary: Bob Stevenson vs Trevor Lee
Candidates for the Republican Primary in House District 16.
About this position
Utah has 75 state representatives in its House of Representatives. Each House Representative serves around 45,000 Utah residents in their district.
Like their counterparts in the Senate, Utah’s House representatives are part-time legislators who serve passing bills and budgets during Utah’s yearly legislative session, which runs for 45 days from January to March. They also serve during each interim session and on various boards, committees and commissions.
House District 16 comprises parts of eastern Davis County around Hill Air Force Base, including parts of Layton and South Weber east of 1-15.
Candidates
Bob Stevenson
About: Mr. Stevenson is a lifelong resident of Layton, Utah. His experience includes teaching at Layton High School, working at Nestle, and owning a residential construction company. He is the former mayor of Layton City, a Layton City council member, and current Davis County Commissioner. Mr. Stevenson has also served on multiple other community boards.
Top priorities (from website): attainable housing, smart water policy, reform property taxes, economic growth, education, teamwork and collaborative leadership
Insights: Mr. Stevenson is known in Davis County for his collaborative, business-oriented approach to leadership. His campaign focuses on practical governance, economic growth, and long-term planning for Davis County communities. Mr. Stevenson is generally viewed as both a reasonable and an experienced local leader with deep knowledge of Davis County government and regional planning.
Supporters point to his long record of working across groups and focusing on practical solutions rather than ideological conflict. His approach reflects a more traditional Utah conservatism centered on stability, economic development, and community relationships rather than national political fights.
We strongly recommend Mr. Stevenson as the most competent, principled candidate in this race.
Trevor Lee
Mr. Lee is a lifelong Davis County resident and currently resides in Layton, Utah. He’s worked in wealth management and business consulting. Mr. Lee currently serves as the Utah House representative for District 16 and has served since 2023.
Top priorities (from website): Tax relief, education quality, expanding school choice, parental rights, secure elections, rule of law and limiting public benefits for immigrants, pro second amendment
Insights: Mr. Lee has become a well-known divisive figure in Utah politics and has repeatedly drawn controversy over inflammatory rhetoric and social media behavior. Critics, including many Republicans, have raised concerns about Mr. Lee’s statements regarding immigrants, which can seem racially charged.
Mr. Lee has also faced criticism for promoting legislation viewed by many as overly punitive toward immigrants (and disconnected from Utah’s historically more compassionate, pragmatic approach to immigration policy).
His record shows that Mr. Lee is at the forefront of ultraconservative culture-war legislation, including sponsoring bills to restrict public benefits for undocumented immigrants. He has also been a proponent of election and voting restrictions. During the 2026 legislative session, Lee served as the primary sponsor of 10–15 bills, none of which ultimately passed into law. With his controversial leadership style, he seems to have faced trouble building consensus within the Legislature. Lee has additionally faced scrutiny over past controversial conduct, including allegations of fraud by former employers as well as a secret online twitter account that he has since deleted.
Our Recommendation
We strongly recommend support for Bob Stevenson in the House District 16 Republican Primary race. We believe Stevenson represents a more experienced, reasonable, and community-focused style of leadership that better reflects the collaborative and solutions-oriented values many Utahns expect from their elected officials.
Mr. Stevenson’s long history in local government demonstrates an ability to work with diverse groups, manage growth responsibly, and focus on practical governance rather than political division—values we really care about.
While Mr. Lee has built a following among some ultraconservative ideological activists, we’re concerned by the increasingly divisive (and occasionally racist) tone of his politics. We also worry about Mr. Lee’s repeated controversies, rhetoric about immigrants and culture, and overall legislative record.
We believe Utah benefits most from leaders who can build trust, work constructively with others, and represent the broad interests of their communities. We find that in Mr. Stevenson, and have not found that in Mr. Trevor Lee.
What comes next?
The winner of the Republican Primary this June will face Democratic nominee Abigail Treasure in the November election. Find more about this seat.