At the Network of Utah Moderates, we aim to encourage informed civic engagement without any particular partisan banner. Moderate Utahns who share broad values of good governance can be found engaged in party politics and in the ranks of unaffiliated voters. We’ve recommended candidates from many parties (and no party at all) in our general election voter guides.
Unaffiliated voters comprise a big and growing group. Over 30% of current Utah voters are not affiliated with any party, the second-largest voter bloc in Utah. Many feel politically homeless, and we know voters here in the Beehive State who would prefer to be independent but affiliate to have a voice in closed primary elections.
What many voters may not know is that Utah has a third party designed to appeal to centrist voters. It’s called the Forward Party, with the tagline “Not left. Not right. Forward.”
A bit of history
Utah now has eight political parties. Only one of those is explicitly in the “center.”
In 2017, BYU professor Richard Davis spearheaded the creation of the United Utah Party (UUP), intended for moderate voters who were feeling politically homeless. The party ran its first candidate almost immediately: Jim Bennett, son of former Republican Senator Bob Bennett, ran in a mid-term race to replace Jason Chaffetz. The United Utah Party continued to run candidates in subsequent elections—many of whom got voter support well beyond what would be expected based on party affiliation numbers.
Several years later, in 2022, the Forward Party emerged on the national scene, led by co-founders Andrew Yang (former Democratic presidential candidate), Christine Todd Whitman (former Republican governor), and others. The Forward Party gained traction and secured ballot access in Utah at the end of 2023.
Determining that two parties for centrists in Utah were one too many, UUP and Forward members formally voted to merge. Because of its ties to a national party, the new centrist party adopted the Forward Party name.
Platform versus values-based
Utah’s Forward Party aims to be different from other parties. Whereas most candidates pledge allegiance to their party’s platform, Forward party candidates sign a pledge indicating that they support certain values instead. Candidates are then expected to use their own judgment to arrive at policy solutions that meet the needs of their constituents—rather than answering to party bosses.
The Forward Party also relies on a grassroots approach to determine state-level priorities. Members suggest issues rooted in the party values and then vote on that list at the annual state convention, selecting as many as they’d like to see emphasized. Priorities picked by at least half of Forwardists are priorities for the year; those picked by at least two-thirds are the party’s top priorities.
This year, Utah Forward party members selected eight priorities and five top priorities: affordable housing, election and voting system reform, fair redistricting, separation of powers and judicial independence, and water conservation—including the Great Salt Lake. (We note these aren’t far off from the top priorities identified by Utah residents overall in the 2024 Utah Foundation Survey)
A different kind of special election
How do these principles work in action? So far, they seem to bring more voters to the table when decisions are made. We were impressed by the Forward Party’s willingness to disrupt the status quo in how they chose a replacement for state Senator Daniel Thatcher in Utah’s Senate District 11.
For context, Senator Thatcher changed his party affiliation from Republican to Forward before his term expired. When he resigned early for health reasons, the Forward Party could have done what Utah’s legacy parties do for mid-term replacements: gather a group of party delegates to choose a successor. Typically in special elections for state senate, up to 150 delegates—a tiny fraction of voters—make decisions for the rest of their district. (We’ll cover special elections in a future post, but it’s worth noting that around 25% of Utah’s current legislators were appointed this way, and these appointees then benefit from a ~97% incumbency re-election rate.)
Instead of limiting voting to party members, the Forward Party instead gave every voter in SD11 a chance to weigh in—regardless of party affiliation.
Five Forward Party candidates were vetted to run for the seat. Each candidate could spend a maximum of $300 to campaign and had three weeks in which to do so. The party gathered consistent information: a video introduction, resume, and sample legislation proposal from each candidate and made it available (and easy to compare) on a single website. Links to that information were also provided directly on the electronic ballot, where approval voting permitted voters to support as many of the five candidates as they wanted.
Over a thousand Senate District 11 voters participated (as many as 10x more voters than typical special elections). Local mom and nonprofit director Emily Buss was the top vote getter. For the past year, Ms. Buss has served as Utah’s only third-party legislator and is currently campaigning to win that senate seat outright in this year’s general election.
Options are good for voters
We hope to find common ground with people engaged in building up our state from all political parties and recognize the value in pursuing pragmatic, collaborative, ethical governance both within and without party structures. Our ultimate hope is good representation for Utahns. Competition leads to greater responsiveness, compromise, and collaboration—to better governance. In our view, a multi-partisan coalition, rather than a state where one-party dominates, will create better representation for Utahns.
As such, we see the Forward Party as an innovative and worthwhile addition to older legacy and third parties in Utah. We also believe in voting your conscience: if you’re dissatisfied with the status quo, perhaps its time to look at new options.
Reasonable voters will come to different conclusions. Some work to support good candidates and uphold their principles within existing party structures. Others prefer to remain independent. Yet other voters are needed to affiliate and build up third parties like the Forward Party. All are worthwhile strategies. Whatever you choose, please keep showing up and working towards good governance for our beautiful state.
And make sure your vote is turned in well before 8pm next Tuesday, November 3!
