When Utah Democrats gathered at Ogden High School for their organizing convention on Saturday, the school hallways loudly echoed the voices of 600 delegates registering and debating whether an established politician or a newcomer had what it takes to transform red districts into blue after the departure of Diane Lewis, who had been in the role for the last four years.
Ultimately, that was decided by thin margins, when 52% of delegates voted Brian King to be the new Utah Democratic Party chair, a choice that reflected the party’s desire to trust widely known names to support its goal of gaining prominence in bright red Utah.
“This isn’t just some abstract policy debate. What we’re talking about is happening right now,” King said during his pitch. “It’s parents losing their Medicaid coverage. It’s students being told what they can’t study. It’s immigrants being detained without due process and deported. It’s workers picking up the tab while billionaires cash in.”
King, who was a state representative from 2009 to 2024, when he quit to run for governor, highlighted his experience, saying he has been in the party long enough to know the dedication and planning needed to achieve its goals. He has also raised money and has cultivated important relationships across the state.
He also committed to getting his hands dirty and filling up his calendar to show real progress.
“I’ve been able to stand on the House floor and say to the Republican supermajority, call them out for what they are, extremists who are out of touch with the values of Utah,” King said. “I took on the governor on the fake stage, and I told the truth. I said, ‘He’s not a leader. He’s a lapdog for the legislature.’”
In a statement after his win, King commended the convention’s turnout, saying it was a demonstration of Utah Democrats’ energy, motivation and readiness to fight for their values.
“This is a new era and this is our moment. As chair, I’m ready to lead the charge to hold out-of-touch Republicans accountable, to connect with voters across the state and political spectrum, and to flip seats from the top of the ballot to the bottom,” King said. “Monopolies, in politics and otherwise, aren’t good for anyone and Utahns deserve better.”
Thank you, Utah Democrats. Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/m8w058nN7W
— Brian S. King (@KingForUtah) May 31, 2025
The day started early with caucus meetings, as cars filled up the school’s parking lot and neighboring streets. While it’s not an election year, delegates were fiery as party leaders and candidates mentioned some of the flagship policies the Republican Party has implemented in the state’s Legislature and, most recently, since President Donald Trump took office this year — immigration, Medicaid cuts, book bans and controversial culture war issues.
From the prayer to the candidates’ speeches, Democrats expressed profound concerns on the political status of the country under Trump’s direction, with some describing it as “being at war.”
While about 600 delegates showed up in person for the convention, 1,450 voted with the availability of digital ballots — a record number, the party said in a news release.
Tara Benally, who traveled with her mom from the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County for the convention, said she hoped to get more representation in rural areas out of the leadership change.
“Not many people are aware of what’s happening today or what’s going on within the state, because a lot of information stops somewhere along the way and just doesn’t get disseminated,” she said.
Especially, she added, when tribes are so deeply concerned with the status of public lands, the expansion of extractive industries, and the transportation of uranium through their neighborhoods.
“What is being done to help resolve a lot of the emergency issues that have been brought? What has been done to help monitor the air quality? A lot of these things we hear up in the Wasatch Front, but have not come down to our area,” Benally said. “When is that going to happen?”
A couple of hours before the voting started, the candidates made their pitches to delegates, with King arguing that the choices they made on Saturday would define the state and the party for years to come, as many started to pay attention to real impacts of policy coming out of the White House and the Legislature.
Ben Peck, a young campaigner and former executive director of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party, highlighted his track record running campaigns that led to the election of Democrats including Natalie Pinkney in a tight race for the Salt Lake County Council, Sheila Srivastava, the first woman elected to serve as Salt Lake County treasurer, and Rosalba Dominguez, a freshman Utah House representative.
“Our democracy is facing an existential crisis. We need a party that acts like that. We don’t have time for part-time leaders anymore. We need a leader of our party whose full-time job is being the leader, building our party,” Peck said.
Other candidates for the role, Archie Williams III and Jonathan Lopez, also made their case, however, but fell well below King and Peck in the in-person support.
The party also voted to approve a platform highlighting values they hope to lift up, including economic security, equality of opportunity, investing in the common good, and American leadership. Additionally, it overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning efforts to extend presidential tenure beyond two terms, as well as denouncing mass workforce reduction and benefit cuts in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This story was republished from Utah News Dispatch, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
