As recently as 2007, Carbon County in eastern Utah was a Democratic stronghold. Back then, all three county commissioners, the county clerk, the sheriff and both the state House and Senate seats were held by Democrats, according to Nathaniel Woodward, the chair of the county Democratic Party.
This had a lot to do with the county’s long history of coal mining and the unions that supported the workers, he said. Many have union connections in Carbon County, including Woodward’s grandfather who started working in the mines after serving in WWII.
“He shows up to the picket line and he sees all of his cousins, his brothers on one side.” So, Woodward said his grandfather “walked up and asked, ‘What are you guys doing here?’ And they explained, ‘Well, we're trying to get a better wage and better hours and better safety.’ And he went, ‘Oh, oh.’ And he turned around and he punched the coal mining representative in the face and walked across the line and said, ‘I'm not a scab.’”
Union solidarity translated into support for the traditionally pro-union Democratic Party. Support has dwindled in the last two decades, however, to the point that in 2022, only a single race even had a Democratic challenger.
But in 2024, Woodward hopes to remind people in his county of that history.
“When we get down in a room with someone and actually explain our community values, they go, ‘Hey, that's what I used to believe. That's what my grandpa was all about,’” said Woodward.
Mining has declined in the county in recent years, and that’s been a source of contention. Woodward hopes Democrats can help bring some of the same principles and policies that were popular when the coal mining unions were starting out to the new industries that are coming in to replace them.
“We need to be able to be there for each other as a community union where we say, ‘Hey, industries, you're welcome to come down here and conduct business. However, we will not put up with these shenanigans. You will not be allowed to exploit us.’”
To increase their profile, the Democrats are doing social media outreach and finding ways to engage with more people in the community. The Carbon County Democratic Party is also running a candidate in every race this year except one. Woodward is excited about all of them.
“I'm not going to recruit someone to run for an office they're not qualified to have,” he said.
One of those candidates, Joe Christman, is running for State House District 67, which encompasses all of Carbon County. The district is currently represented by Republican Christine Watkins.
This is the first time the district has had a democratic challenger since 2012. Christman said the support he’s received from the county party has been encouraging, and that this year, the Democrats running don’t just feel like placeholders.
“I feel the tide has changed a little bit, that a Democrat with a good message stands a real good chance,” Christman said.
