The Utah Democratic Party (UDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Utah.

It has minimal political power in the state. It controls none of Utah's statewide or federal elected offices, and is in the superminority in both chambers of the Utah State Legislature. Democrats last received Utah's electoral votes in 1964.

History The Democratic Party originated around 1884 in Utah. In 1896, more than 80 percent of the state vote went toward William Jennings Bryan, a Democrat, and the state elected several Democrats to state and local offices. The Democratic legislature elected Joseph L. Rawlins to serve as a U.S. Senator and William H. King to the House.

Reed Smoot had a political alliance with the Mormons and Gentiles that helped the Republican Party to gain power. The Democrats did not have as much power after 1900, although in 1924, Democratic legislator George Dern beat the incumbent Republican Governor Charles Mabey winning on the slogan, "We Want a Dern Good Governor and We Don't Mean Mabey".

In the 1930s, the Democrats had more success. President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected Governor Dern as the Secretary of War. Elbert D. Thomas beat incumbent Reed Smoot in the Senate and served until 1950. Herbert B. Maw was elected to the state senate in 1928. He then became the President of the Utah Senate. They passed bills dealing with unemployment assistance and they created an open primary law.

Maw was elected governor in 1940 and was reelected in 1944, but lost in 1948. In the same year, Reva Beck Bosone was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat. She was the first woman from Utah to be elected to Congress.

In 1958, Frank E. "Ted" Moss was elected to the U.S. Senate and remained there until the 1970s. Cal Rampton, a moderate Democrat, was elected governor in 1964.

In 1972, Jean Westwood became the Chair of the Democratic National Committee. She was the first woman to hold this position in either major political party. As of 2025, no other Utahn has chaired the DNC.

The Utah Democratic Party struggled through the end of the 1970s and most of the 1980s. In 1986, Wayne Owens was elected to Utah's 2nd congressional district, and in 1992, Bill Orton was elected to Congress from Utah's 3rd congressional district. The UDP still remains a clear minority in state politics.

Beverly White, the longest serving woman in the Utah State Legislature, was a member of the Democratic Party.

The party's platform focuses on economic security, equal opportunity, the common good, and American leadership.

State party organization

Party executive officers

Office Office-holder Chair Brian King Vice Chair Susan Merrill Secretary Brad Dickter Treasurer Catherine Voutaz Executive Director Jade Velazquez National Committee Member Clare Collard National Committee Member Brad Townley

State-party caucuses The Utah Democratic Party recognizes 18 statewide caucuses. Each caucus promotes issues related to its mission: Asian/Pacific Islander Caucus Black Caucus College Democrats Disability Caucus Education Caucus Environmental Caucus Healthcare Caucus Hispanic Caucus Labor Caucus LDS Caucus Native American Caucus Progressive Caucus Rural Caucus Senior Caucus Utah Stonewall Democrats Veterans Caucus Women's Caucus Young Democrats of Utah

Election results

Presidential +Utah Democratic Party presidential election resultsElectionPresidential ticketVotesVote %Electoral votesResult1896William Jennings Bryan/Arthur Sewall64,61082.70%1900William Jennings Bryan/Adlai E. Stevenson45,00648.30%1904Alton B. Parker/Henry G. Davis33,41332.86%1908William Jennings Bryan/John W. Kern42,63739.19%1912Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall36,57932.58%1916Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall84,14558.78%1920James M. Cox/Franklin D. Roosevelt56,63938.84%1924John W. Davis/Charles W. Bryan47,00129.94%1928Al Smith/Joseph T. Robinson80,98545.86%1932Franklin D. Roosevelt/John N. Garner116,75056.52%1936Franklin D. Roosevelt/John N. Garner150,24669.34%1940Franklin D. Roosevelt/Henry A. Wallace154,27762.25%1944Franklin D. Roosevelt/Harry S. Truman150,08860.44%1948Harry S. Truman/Alben W. Barkley149,15153.98%1952Adlai Stevenson/John Sparkman135,36441.07%1956Adlai Stevenson/Estes Kefauver118,36435.44%1960John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson169,24845.17%1964Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey219,62854.86%1968Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie156,66537.07%1972George McGovern/Sargent Shriver126,28426.39%1976Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale182,11033.65%1980Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale124,26620.57%1984Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro155,36924.68%1988Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen297,34332.05%1992Bill Clinton/Al Gore183,42924.65%1996Bill Clinton/Al Gore221,63333.30%2000Al Gore/Joe Lieberman203,05326.34%2004John Kerry/John Edwards241,19926.00%2008Barack Obama/Joe Biden327,67034.22%2012Barack Obama/Joe Biden251,81324.69%2016Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine310,67627.46%2020Joe Biden/Kamala Harris560,28237.65%2024Kamala Harris/Tim Walz562,56637.79%

Gubernatorial +Utah Democratic Party gubernatorial election resultsElectionGubernatorial candidate/ticketVotesVote %Result1895John Thomas Caine18,51944.73%Lost 1900James Moyle37,15248.02%Lost 1904James Moyle38,04737.40%Lost 1908Jesse Knight43,26638.80%Lost 1912John Franklin Tolton36,07632.36%Lost 1916Simon Bamberger78,50255.12%Won 1920Thomas N. Taylor54,91338.78%Lost 1924George Dern81,30852.99%Won 1928George Dern102,95358.50%Won 1932Henry H. Blood116,03156.39%Won 1936Henry H. Blood109,65664.59%Won 1940Herbert B. Maw128,51952.07%Won 1944Herbert B. Maw123,90750.21%Won 1948Herbert B. Maw123,81445.01%Lost 1952Earl J. Glade147,18844.92%Lost 1956L.C. "Rennie" Romney111,29733.43%Lost 1960William Arthur Barlocker175,85547.34%Lost 1964Cal Rampton226,95656.99%Won 1968Cal Rampton289,28368.71%Won 1972Cal Rampton331,99869.69%Won 1976Scott M. Matheson280,70652.02%Won 1980Scott M. Matheson330,97455.16%Won 1984Wayne Owens275,66943.78%Lost 1988Ted Wilson249,32138.41%Lost 1992Stewart Hanson/Paula Julander117,18123.24%Lost 1996Jim Bradley/Shari Holweg156,61623.31%Lost 2000Bill Orton/Karen Hale321,97942.27%Lost 2004Scott Matheson Jr./Karen Hale380,35941.35%Lost 2008Bob Springmeyer/Josie Valdez186,50319.72%Lost 2010 (special)Peter Corroon/Sheryl Allen205,24631.90%Lost 2012Peter Cooke/Vincent Rampton277,62227.58%Lost 2016Mike Weinholtz/Kim Bowman323,34928.74%Lost 2020Christopher Peterson/Karina Brown442,75430.35%Lost 2024Brian King/Rebekah Cummings420,51428.46%Lost

County party organization Each of Utah's 29 Counties has a party organization, which operates within that county and sends state delegates to the Utah Democratic Party'sUtah Democratic Party Website state convention each year. Delegates are selected at caucus meetings held on the third Tuesday of March in election years (even numbered years) and serve two year terms. In April, county delegates selected at the March caucus meetings gather at their respective county conventions to select state delegates and nominate county candidates or state legislative candidates where the legislative district is entirely within their county.

The Utah Democratic Party's state convention is typically held within the first two weeks of May following these county conventions in election years, but may be held later in odd numbered years. At state conventions state delegates vote to determine the party's nominees in federal races or in state races where the district crosses county lines in what is referred to as a "nominating convention." A candidate must receive at least 55% of the vote at the nominating convention to become the party's nominee. If a candidate falls short of this goal the nominee is determined through a primary. In Utah, Democratic primaries are open to all registered voters, but a registered voter may only participate in one party's primary. The Republican primary is closed to all but registered Republicans (Unaffiliated registered voters may change their affiliation on election day to vote in a Republican primary.)

In odd numbered years county and state delegates gather at county organizing conventions and the state organizing convention respectively to determine their county and state party leadership. Positions up for election at these conventions are party chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer. Together these offices make up the executive officers of the respective county parties and the Utah Democratic Party. A simple majority is sufficient to elect someone to each of these positions, though it may take multiple ballots in order to receive a majority of the delegates' votes. All county party chairs and vice chairs are automatically assigned to the Utah Democratic Party's central committee. Counties may have additional representatives in this body depending upon population.

Current elected officials

Members of Congress U.S. Senate None Both of Utah's senate seats have been held by Republicans since 1976. Frank Moss was the last Democrat to represent Utah in the United States Senate.

U.S. House of Representatives

None

Utah has been represented in the U.S. House exclusively by Republicans since 2021. Ben McAdams was the last Democrat to hold a Utah U.S. House seat.

Statewide offices None. Attorney General Jan Graham was the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Utah, from 1993 to 2001.

State Legislature Senate Minority Leader: Luz Escamilla Senate Minority Whip: Karen Kwan Assistant Minority Whip: Jennifer Plumb House Minority Leader: Angela Romero House Minority Whip: Jennifer Dailey-Provost Assistant Minority Whip: Sahara Hayes

Mayors Salt Lake City: Erin Mendenhall

Notable members

Governors

Simon Bamberger George Henry Dern Henry Hooper Blood Herbert Brown Maw Calvin Lewellyn Rampton Scott Milne Matheson

Senators

Joseph L. Rawlins William H. King Elbert D. Thomas Orrice Abram Murdock Jr. Frank E. Moss

Representatives

William H. King Brigham Henry Roberts Milton H. Welling James Henry Mays Abe Murdock J. W. Robinson Walter K. Granger Reva Beck Bosone M. Blaine Peterson David S. King K. Gunn McKay Wayne Owens Allan Turner Howe Karen Shepherd William Orton Jim Matheson Ben McAdams

See also Democratic Party Utah Republican Party Utah Libertarian Party

References

Further reading (1994) "Democratic Party" article in the Utah History Encyclopedia. The article was written by John Sillito and the Encyclopedia was published by the University of Utah Press. ISBN 9780874804256. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022 and retrieved on April 13, 2024.

External links Utah Democratic Party