Utah
Why a third-party choice is best for state attorney general
If you missed the recent Utah Republican Party convention, count yourself lucky. It was 15 hours of grueling, mean, misogynist, partisan rhetoric, with some vile attacks against children thrown in for good measure.
I wasn’t there. I recently left the Utah Republican Party and my leadership positions within the party. The E. Jean Carroll trial was my last straw. Knowing that a jury of his peers found the GOP frontrunner liable in that case was something I wasn’t willing to look past.
I’m not alone. According to Gallup, in 2023, independent voters constituted the largest voting bloc in the U.S. at 43%, and above 40% for most years since 2011. Only 27% of U.S. adults identify as either Republican or Democrat. In Utah, unaffiliated voters are the second largest voting bloc after Republicans at almost 30% of registered voters.
The complexities of Utah politics make leaving the Utah GOP (and/or joining the Utah GOP) a nuanced decision — staying and/or joining in order to engage in the primary election process.
Allow me to present an alternative vision, at least as it relates to the Utah Office of the Attorney General.
Utah’s office of the attorney general has had a complicated history, to say the least. Utah’s partisan system incentivizes attorneys general to follow their donors’ wishes, enables pay-to-play schemes and ignores Utah voters, to the detriment of Utah’s top law firm.
Instead of focusing on state legal work or modernizing the office’s e-discovery methods so courts don’t label them as “haphazard,” or even ensuring the office’s staff are appropriately compensated, the partisan nature of the top leadership role changes the dynamics of that traditionally nonpartisan role.
But politics have no place in law enforcement.
Utah’s judges aren’t elected, thankfully. Attorneys aren’t political. And yet Utah’s attorney general is a partisan office.
The attorney general represents Utah voters in Utah’s highest courts. Who is representing Utah voters if a hyperpartisan attorney general is beholden to national party bosses and their purse strings or, even worse, to himself?
There is no question that the office needs reform; the for-sale sign needs to go.
One idea floated by Republican leaders is to appoint the attorney general instead of elect her. But that removes choice from Utahns and consolidates even more power in a government already controlled by a supermajority of Republican legislators (80% Republican) that fails to reflect Utah’s population (50% Republican).
The better option is to elect a nonpartisan attorney general. But Utah’s laws do not currently provide for such an option.
The next best option is to elect a third-party attorney general untainted by party politics and untethered from either major political party or their purse strings — essentially, a nonpartisan attorney general.
That is why I am running as a third-party candidate and member of the United Utah Party, whose platform includes the principle of ethical government and transparency, which is one of my priorities in office.
I’ve been a Wall Street lawyer, a federal court clerk, a solo practitioner, a law school dean of admissions, a Utah State Bar commissioner, and am now a business litigator, appellate advocate and familiar face in Utah’s legal community.
As you make your decision about who you will vote for in the Republican primary over the next month, I urge you to remember there is a better option on the November ballot.
A vote for me in November will do three things:
- Send a message to those who have been stewards of this office for decades that voters are unhappy with that stewardship.
- Reform the office to what is essentially a nonpartisan attorney general and get the politics out of the office by disconnecting it from big party bosses and their purse strings.
- Elect the best candidate with the most experience and service in Utah’s legal community whose only interest is to refocus back on state legal issues.
I look forward to earning your vote in November.
Michelle Quist is a business litigator and appellate attorney at Holland & Hart in Salt Lake City, a mother of seven and the United Utah Party candidate for attorney general of Utah.
A Utah physician is warning that 21 data centers in various stages of development could significantly worsen air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Dr. Brian Moench, with Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said the planned data centers are cause for alarm. Each facility is expected to generate its own electricity using natural gas power plants.
While natural gas is cleaner than coal, Moench said it still produces nitrogen oxide, which contributes significantly to ozone, particulate formation, and smog.
“There’s no safe level of air pollution. All of it is harmful, even at the very lowest doses,” Moench said.
Moench said health advocates have legitimate reasons to be concerned about what the facilities could mean for public health in the region.
“There is a real legitimate concern on the part of any health advocates about what this impact will mean to the Wasatch Front and public health if all these data centers are built or even if just a few of them are, and that’s not to address the impact on the Great Salt Lake shrinking up and becoming a toxic dust bowl. That’s the next leg of this argument,” he said.
Moench also raised concerns about electronic waste. As computer chips and equipment become obsolete and are replaced, he said the volume of e-waste produced is something no one has yet addressed.
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UTAH COUNTY, May 11, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — Two males, ages 14 and 19, were transported to area hospitals Sunday after the side-by-side they were riding rolled down the side of a mountain.
Utah County Sheriff deputies and Santaquin police responded to the 6:07 p.m. call. Two medical helicopters were called to the scene, in the Pole Canyon area, as was a Department of Public Safety helicopter with a hoist in case it was needed, Sgt. Austin Edwards, Utah County Sheriff‘s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
“Eventually, rescue workers were able to make it to the spot on the hill where the vehicle had come to rest, and they were able to secure the victims, stabilize the victims, and get them back down the hill again to where the helicopters were waiting,” Edwards said.
“The 19-year-old male was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and the 14 year old was transported to Primary Children’s in Lehi.”
Both were said to have critical injuries, which were not considered to be life threatening, Edwards said.
“The cause of the rollover is still under investigation, so we don’t have that information available just yet.”
Photos: Utah County Sheriff
In what has a chance to be one of the most important nights in Jazz history, the Utah Jazz jumped in the NBA Lottery to the #2 spot for the upcoming NBA draft.
Here are the final results, which show all the movement.
Aside from it being a massive night for the Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Bulls, it was a devastating night for a few teams, but no one more than the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers, in their trade for Ivica Zubac, had a stipulation on their pick that if the pick was top-4 they kept it. But if it fell below 4, they would give it to the Clippers which is exactly what happened. Now, the Clippers, who are without Zubac, find themselves with a #5 pick to build around.
For the Jazz this is a culmination of four years of rebuilding that ends with an extremely satisfying end. Utah will now have one of the tier-1 players from this draft: AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson. The player Utah drafts will be one of their cornerstone pieces and will have the chance to not only play, but be a part of a team that will be competing for the playoffs this season.
The Utah Jazz now have a Sinister Six core: Darryn Peterson (If AJ Dybantsa goes #1), Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler (if he signs). It’s quite the core with a mix of youth and veterans in their prime. With this group, the Jazz will have a chance to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Yes, the Thunder and Spurs are going to be difficult to beat, but Utah has the mix of talent, coaching, and depth that could absolutely do the trick.
Now the Utah Jazz look forward to the NBA Draft that be on June 23rd. Let the posturing begin!!
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