Since Utah is a Republican supermajority-led state, there have long been gripes about party raiding, Democratic voters who register with the GOP as a moderating force in primaries, or voters who may prove to be RINOs — a political acronym for “Republican in name only.”
The effect of party raiding is still debatable, but now Republican voters in the newly redrawn 1st Congressional District have a turnabout opportunity of their own.
Data from Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman show 7,534 Democratic mail-in ballots have been requested ahead of the June 23 primary, approximately 6,700 of which are in the 1st District.
In 2022, only around 1,300 Democratic primary ballots were requested, Chapman said. The higher number this go-round tells her “voters are paying attention and excited to have a contest and candidates to vote for.”
The Democratic primary is open, meaning any registered voter can participate, but unaffiliated or Republican voters must request the Democratic ballot.
Kathie Jensen of West Valley City is one of those voters, and a party-raiding example.
She said she grew up in a Democratic family but didn’t change her party affiliation until the 2020 gubernatorial primary election between Spencer Cox, Jon Huntsman Jr., Thomas Wright and Greg Hughes.
Jensen said she “did not like” Hughes and, after some thought, decided to register Republican so she could vote against him in the primary.
“I really felt like I was opening a door,” the 72-year-old said, “I felt like I would have more of a voice because I could vote for more, more moderate ones at that time.”
As soon as the new maps were drawn and confirmed in place for the 2026 midterms, notable Democrats jumped at the opportunity to represent Utah. Former congressman Ben McAdams is shouldering the moderate lane on the ballot against progressives like state Sen. Nate Blouin, convention winner Liban Mohamed and attorney Michael Farrell. With the new map, the leader of the Utah Democratic Party, Brian King, asked wayward Democrats registered with the GOP to “come home.” Jensen, though, said she wasn’t confident in the new maps enough to do so.
“I feel that that would take away my voice in the primaries. That's where it matters, is in the primary. In the general election, I vote Democrat, but in the primary I can vote for a less, well, a more moderate Republican,” she said.
Now retired, Jensen has lived through several administrations but said right now she’s concerned about the state of the country.
“I am worried about where we're going,” she said, adding that she believes Americans are losing their freedoms.
To her, the upcoming primary is important to restoring order in the United States, and she hopes Democrats can take back some power in Congress.
This year’s midterms fall in a national redistricting fight prompted by President Donald Trump, with hopes of giving Republicans a better chance of holding the House. Utah’s new map wasn’t part of that state-by-state fight and was instead the result of a long-running court battle over Proposition 4. However, recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings and a Virginia court case have given an edge to the GOP nationally.
This makes Utah’s redrawn map with a blue-leaning district all the more significant in the balance of power in the House.
The race has been a turbulent one for Democrats, and it was an open question how progressive voters in the new district were willing to be.
Controversy struck two of the contenders. Old, derogatory social media posts from Blouin resurfaced, while former Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez faced sexual misconduct allegations. Blouin remains in the race, while Lopez Chavez lost at the convention.
Mohamed, a relative unknown in Utah politics, upset both McAdams and Blouin at the Democratic convention. All four candidates on the ballot also collected signatures to secure their spots.
Jensen is unsure about who she will support, but has requested a Democratic ballot. She said she’s glad to have the opportunity to put her vote behind a Democrat and have it count.
“My mom says she doesn't think either party is any good anymore, and I think that's what people want you to think, that you either vote Republican or don't vote at all.”
Though, as the numbers from the Salt Lake County Clerk indicate, that mentality might have changed this year with the new district.
