UT-02: Republican Rep. Chris Stewart tells Roll Call he’ll probably make his resignation official sometime in September, saying, “We’re trying to work out the best date for the state and also we want to help with appropriations bills and get some work finished here.” Stewart’s would-be GOP successors, though, are already expressing interest in running to succeed him in the upcoming special election for a gerrymandered seat that Donald Trump took 57-40.
A few people have already expressed interest in running to the Salt Lake Tribune, KSLN, or Fox 13:
- state party activist Kathleen Anderson
- former state party chair Derek Brown
- former state Rep. Becky Edwards
- state party official Jordan Hess
- State Sen. Mike Kennedy
- 2022 candidate Erin Rider
- Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow
- State Sen. Todd Weiler
- Salt Lake County Council member Aimee Winder Newton
Edwards, who lost last year’s GOP primary to Sen. Mike Lee 62-30, told KSLN that “I intend to run,” while Weiler disclosed to Fox 13 on Wednesday his own decision would come “in the next couple of days.”
The Tribune and KUTV also reported a few others are considering:
- state party chair Rob Axson
- Republican National Committeeman Bruce Hough
- former state House Speaker Greg Hughes
- state Sen. Dan McCay
The paper also mentions a few others as possibilities:
- businessman Brad Bonham
- former state Rep. Kim Coleman
- academic Henry Eyring
- Davis County Commissioner Bob Stevenson
In the no column are Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who is challenging Sen. Mitt Romney, and state Rep. Walt Brooks.
On the Democratic side, state Sen. Kathleen Riebe has announced she’s in. Former Rep. Ben McAdams, who represented the 4th District from 2019 to 2021 under the previous map, didn’t quite reject the idea of a comeback, though he told the Tribune he was unlikely to do it now.
Finally, unnamed allies of independent Evan McMullin, who unsuccessfully challenged Lee last year in the general election, tell the paper he’s “being encouraged to run.”