Utah’s Legislature is in for a big shakeup after Tuesday night’s Republican primary election.
Senate President Stuart Adams, Sen. Dan McCay and conservative firebrand Rep. Trevor Lee have all conceded to their challengers.
Attorney Stephanie Hollist took on Adams, who has been in office since 2010. Fellow Republican lawmaker Rep. Doug Fiefia ousted McCay. And former Layton mayor Bob Stevenson bested Lee.
If there’s a theme that ties the upsets together, Utah State University political science professor Damon Cann said it’s that voters are paying attention.
“If legislators aren't serving their constituents in the way that they would like to be served, there are still mechanisms, such as the primary election process, that give them an opportunity to hold elected officials accountable,” he said.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Caroline Ballard: How much of a surprise is it that Senate President Stuart Adams has been edged out?
Damon Cann: Well, we knew this was a competitive race going into it, and if it had not been for the Stratos data center project, this almost certainly would have been an uncompetitive primary election. That project very quickly escalated into the most controversial and hot-button issue in the state of Utah, and Stuart Adams ends up paying the price.
CB: What does Doug Fiefia’s commanding lead over incumbent Dan McCay tell you?
DC: Dan McCay has served, I think, effectively, with distinction, in the Legislature. There are certainly some people who were unhappy with his engagement in the development of the new Utah state flag, and for some people, this was a chance to kind of express their grievance. At the same time, Doug Fiefia, representing some of the same territory in the House, and again very popular with his constituents, in this case, a sense of maybe a little bit of time for a change. Even if Sen. McCay served with distinction. Rep. Fiefia is young, he's very energetic, and I think has done a great job in his first term of service in the House of Representatives. That was enough for voters to give him a shot at serving in the State Senate to represent them. Now stepping up a level.
CB: While Trevor Lee has been a conservative firebrand in the statehouse, he hasn't been as successful with legislation. What's at play there?
DC: He may have some of the highest name recognition of any legislator, but not always for the reasons you want your name to be recognized. Some legislation that he was moving on, requiring proof of citizenship before providing any government service, proved to be unpopular. And in other instances, it may have been as much a matter of style as of substance. There were some questions regarding scandal, some of his past business dealings that broke just before the Republican convention. Then Bob Stevenson is a very, very strong challenger. He served as mayor of Layton, served on the county commission, and I think voters were looking for someone they had high confidence would represent them without maybe some of the extra noise
CB: How could this reshape the Legislature?
DC: The most substantial change is the Utah Senate is going to have a new president. That's going to perhaps be the most profound change, because leadership and the people who serve in those positions matters in a substantial way. A second thing that I think we'll see change fairly quickly is that data centers are going to be perceived as much more politically sensitive in the state of Utah. I think we're going to see a lot of individuals running legislation to see if they can demonstrate that incumbents have heard and understand the message that the voters in President Adams' district have sent.
