Utah Senate District 14: Stephanie Pitcher vs. Taylor Khater
The Democratic primary for Utah’s Senate District 14 in east Salt Lake County.
About this position
Utah has 29 state senators who form one of the two chambers. Each senator represents around (or just over) 100,000 Utah residents.
Senators are part-time legislators who serve during Utah’s yearly legislative session, which runs for 45 days from January to March, as well as during each interim session and on various committees and commissions. State senators also confirm judicial appointments, department heads, and other appointed positions.
Senate District 14 (SD14) includes Millcreek, Holladay, and parts of Murray and southeastern Salt Lake City. Find your state senate district.
Candidates
Top priorities come from candidates’ official websites. We view this guide as merely a starting point. Please research more and reach out to the candidates directly to learn more about their issues and experience.
Find what values and attributes we’re looking for in candidates.
Stephanie Pitcher
About: Moved to the Millcreek area in her teens, earned a B.A. at Utah State University and a J.D from the University of Utah. In 2018, Ms. Pitcher won the House district 40 seat. Since 2021, she has served as state senator for Utah’s Senate District 14.
Top priorities (from website): fighting government corruption, affordability, environmental stewardship, public education, supporting women and working families.
Insights: As a Democratic senator, Ms. Pitcher is committed to progressive causes but has earned a reputation in the state legislature for pragmatism (most of us view this as a good thing). She’s known for reaching across the aisle, finding common ground, and has been highly productive at passing bipartisan legislation, including legal system reforms and measures to reduce unlawful vehicle emissions.
Taylor Khater
About: (Khater is pronounced “cater”) Mr. Khater has deep roots in the Millcreek area, where he was born and raised. He’s an award-winning educator, and has a devoted following in the schools and communities of Granite School District where he has both taught and served as principal. He is known for consensus-building and taking action to meet needs.
Top priorities (from website): Integrity and accountability, strong public schools, thriving communities, science-based environmental stewardship.
Insights: As a beloved teacher and principal, Mr. Khater is highly regarded for his attention to both the academic success and personal well-being of students. He is deeply committed to strengthening public education in Utah and participates actively in building communities.
Our Recommendation:
We’re glad to see two candidates who seem to live the values we’re looking for. Both Democratic candidates are known to be productive consensus builders. As such, we don’t have a firm recommendation for this race.
Ms. Pitcher is the more avowedly progressive, though her actual record is relatively moderate. Mr. Khater is untested. Moderate voters who are uncomfortable with Ms. Pitcher’s views despite her record of bipartisanship might take a closer look at Mr. Khater.
Of note: Since Democrats have open primaries, any voter in Senate District 14 who would like to vote in this race can request a ballot. Registered democratic voters in the district will automatically be sent a ballot for the primary, but unaffiliated voters and voters registered with another party can also participate.
Find more about how to vote, update your registration, and more at vote.utah.gov.
What’s next?
No other party nominated a candidate for this Senate seat. The winner of the Democratic primary this June will be the only candidate listed on the November ballot. If someone chooses to challenge the winner, official write-in candidate filings are due by August 28.