What an election! One giant, sincere thank you to all for voting, and thank you to all candidates brave enough to put their name on the ballot. We’re especially relieved that Utah voters overwhelmingly saw through Amendment B, so that citizens retain a full check on our leaders.
Quick election recap
Several weeks ago we noted concern about the effects of one-party domination in Utah. If current results hold, Utah voters have chosen to break the legislative supermajority for the first time since 1992. Wow. Way to go, Utah!
Notably, several fully independent legislators won seats in the state house—in HD 3 and HD 38—marking Utah’s first independent legislators in generations.1
We believe this additional check on power will be good for Utahns. A more balanced legislature can lead to more compromise and bills that are fully thought through, not rushed through. We hope this unprecedented election helps state leaders become more responsive to their constituents’ needs.
Ballots are still being counted all over the state. Results won’t be fully final until the election “canvass” two weeks after Election Day. Voters who voted provisionally or received a notification from their county clerk should “cure” their ballot as soon as possible. Look on your county clerk’s website for information.
State leadership
Perhaps the most surprising result, and the result with outsized impacts on how Utah functions, are upcoming leadership changes in the state senate.
The change started when Utah’s longtime state senate president, Senator Stuart Adams, lost re-election during the June primary. Then this week, Senator Kirk Cullimore—the current Senate majority leader and Mr. Adams’ most likely successor as senate president—wound up significantly behind in his re-election bid. He is currently down more than 3,000 votes (about 10 points).
Now we realize most Americans may not know the names of federal Senate and House leaders, not to mention their state leaders.
But Utahns should know this: top legislative leaders, especially Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, are some of the most powerful politicians in the state. In many ways, these leaders are at least as powerful as the governor and executive branch—just much less well-known.
Legislative leaders shape how Utah is governed. They help determine which bills get priority, pass out of committee (and who chairs and sits on those committees), and with their leadership teams, ultimately secure the votes needed to become law. Top leaders also serve on boards and commissions and act as ambassadors of the state. Moreover, Senate president and House speaker have recently wielded significant influence over campaign funding.
These are important roles!
While leadership elections officially happen on the first day of the legislative session, the real election happens earlier. (This election is happening today, Friday November 6th, hence this email.)
Only members of the majority party get a vote in choosing Utah’s most powerful legislators. Because Republicans hold the majority in both chambers of Utah’s Congress, only Republican legislators get a vote for Utah’s House Speaker and Senate President.
How it works
After months of private conversations, Republican state house representatives and senators meet in a closed meeting with their “caucus.”
Each majority-party legislator casts a vote for leadership. These votes are private. Votes are placed in a ballot box, then drawn out individually, one by one. Once one person meets the required threshold to become Speaker or President, the voting stops and the rest of the ballots are destroyed.2
The caucus’s decision is then formally ratified on the first day of the legislative session, almost always by acclamation, unanimous consent from both parties. Interestingly, the start of the session two years ago was the first time a sitting senator dissented with leadership choices.3
Why leadership elections matter
It’s worth noting that only one legislative caucus participates in choosing leaders who ultimately shape laws affecting every Utahn. Leadership elections are currently considered an internal function of the majority party. It’s understandable, however, that some Utahns would prefer greater transparency (and say) in selecting the officials who hold so much influence.
Our bigger takeaway is that over time, more and more authority has become concentrated in legislative leadership. Leadership now helps determine which bills move forward, who serves in key committee roles, how the legislative calendar unfolds, and increasingly, who receives campaign support. While none of those responsibilities is inherently inappropriate, when bundled together, they place enormous influence in the hands of just a few elected officials.
That’s why this leadership election matters. It’s not simply about who holds a title; it’s about who will exercise that influence over Utah’s legislative process for the next several years. As citizens, understanding how that power is acquired and exercised is an important part of holding our government accountable.
May we continue to do so.
Still waiting on results from Senate District 11, where Emily Buss, the state’s only third-party state senator, is defending her seat after being appointed in a special election at the end of 2025.
This process is important to help legislators who may have voted against the winner avoid retribution. Especially in a state with 29 senators (not all of whom get a vote, since Democrats and Forward party state senators are excluded), it can be pretty clear who voted for you—or didn’t. We’ve heard from legislators that leaders’ retribution can be real.
For the first time in modern Utah history, a majority party senator—Mr. Daniel Thatcher— dissented against the leadership choice of Mr. Adams during the first day of the 2024 session. The Senate president was so embarrassed, he didn’t let the dissenting vote go on the public record.