Editor's note: This article is the fifth in a series looking at what a change in the presidency might mean for an array of topics that affects Utah. Be sure to read parts one, two, three and four.

SALT LAKE CITY — "There's no way but up."

That's how Utah Senate Minority Leader Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, assessed the state of the country Tuesday ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration. Now that Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, he confronts a wide range of challenges from a raging pandemic to civil unrest to economic uncertainty.

But what will the Biden presidency mean for Utah and for Utah politics?

"It's hard to know," said Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville. "Every administration has its own approach to things." But Wilson said Utah leaders are in "constant contact" with the state's federal delegation.

"At this point," Wilson said, "we are optimistic the Biden administration will want to work with us on a number of issues."

While Utah Republicans were not always the biggest fans of President Donald Trump, most found ample common ground with the former president on policy goals and priorities. Now, Utah is confronted with a Congress and presidency controlled by the Democratic Party, at odds with the state's GOP supermajority and its entirely Republican congressional delegation.

"There are certainly aspects that change" under a new administration, Utah Democratic Party Chair Jeff Merchant told KSL.com. "For example, some of those more honorific things that would generally happen — getting to go to the White House, getting to hobnob with secretaries and departmental leaders and all that — that may still happen for those (Republican) gentlemen. I don't think it's going to be the lovefest that they're probably used to. It's going to be a lot more 'down to brass tacks' kind of thing."

Will a more liberal administration in Washington lead to more conservative legislation here at home?

"The reality is, of course there's going to be a subset of people that choose to overreact to a president from the opposite party coming in," Merchant said. "Whether we like it or not, we have some right-wing members of the Utah Legislature, some of whom have been more than willing to spout off the inaccuracies that Donald Trump and his most fervent and radical supporters have spouted, and even used to justify breaking into the Capitol building. So we're going to see some of that stuff."

Trump and many of his supporters believed, and continue to believe, that he was the true winner of the 2020 presidential election, a claim that has not been validated in the many lawsuits filed and recounts conducted since the election. An effort to overturn the election results culminated two weeks ago when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress convened to certify the Electoral College votes.

"But here's the real question," Merchant continued. "Since we have seen these radical insurrectionists break into the Capitol and attempt to destroy our seat of government, are moderate Republicans going to allow that to continue to define their party? They've allowed that for four years, and my hope would be that people like Speaker Wilson and (Senate President Stuart Adams) would outright reject that perspective."

Utah has laid bare some of the biggest fault lines in the modern Republican Party as it navigates a post-Trump world. Sen. Mitt Romney has consistently been Trump's most vocal critic from within the party, but Utah is also home to staunch Trump supporters in figures like Rep. Chris Stewart and Attorney General Sean Reyes. It remains to be seen what direction the party will go, and what kind of candidates it will gravitate toward, under a Biden presidency.

'The elephant in the room'

One way that Biden could impact Utah quickly, and without congressional approval, is by restoring the original boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument. It was created by outgoing President Barack Obama in 2016, only to be dramatically reduced a year later by Trump.

While most Utah Republicans support the smaller boundaries Trump created, the Grand and San Juan county commissioners have requested that Biden restore the monument to its original parameters. It's an issue Merchant said "could be considered the elephant in the room."

"Not to use a metaphor that refers to my Republican friends," he clarified.

Merchant said public lands management is "an issue that a lot of Utahns actually support protecting."

"We do have a small subset of people that have been in and on the land for a long time that have their own positions and their own views on that," Merchant said. "But I really feel like the vast majority of Utahns want to see public lands protected. They want to see public lands utilized in the best possible way, and the best possible way not just immediately, but in the long term."

Under the Antiquities Act, presidents can unilaterally designate national monuments on public lands. Restoring the boundaries might seal the fate of the lands and end a contentious, yearslong saga; but it's also possible a future Republican president will try to reduce the monument again.

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'Time will tell'

Utah's Republican leaders might not see eye to eye with Biden on everything, but Wilson indicated they're ready to work with the administration on areas of common interest.

"We'll do what we always do," he said, "which is proactively reach out to them and try to help align our agenda items ... with things they want to accomplish. We do know this: We're always more successful when we're talking with each other and working on things together, so that's going to be our approach.

"I just got off a call with the Senate president here, and Gov. (Spencer) Cox and Lt. Gov. (Deidre) Henderson, and we spent a lot of time talking about this issue. How can we work proactively with the new administration and our federal delegation to ensure Utah's needs are being elevated and talked about?"

On Wednesday, Cox offered his "sincerest prayers" for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying "their success is America's success."

"As President Biden takes office, we look forward to working with him in advancing the vital interest of Utahns," he said in a statement.

Adams, R-Layton, said he's "hopeful" that Biden's calls for unity will lead to political reconciliation in the country.

"We have issues in Utah, and many of our issues may not be politically in line with some of his," Adams said. "But we hope that he'll actually include us, and there are many issues we've been talking about — our public lands, and others — and trying to get our congressional delegation involved with. We hope there's an inclusive approach, but time will tell."

"Obviously, I voted for him, and I have great respect for his skills," Mayne said. "I think what we need, and we've gotten, is a seasoned politician. He knows both sides, he's been in the game a long time, and that's what you need. We spoke about it in our chamber — people working together, fostering ideas, making things work. He has that long, skilled track record."

Mayne was hopeful about Biden's plans to combat the coronavirus pandemic and accelerate vaccinations. "At least we have some goals," she said.

Amid the uncertainty, Wilson said one thing's for sure: Things are about to change.

"It is different having a different party in power back in Washington, D.C.," he said. "That changes the dynamic somewhat for us, but I think at the end of the day, we'll just keep working as hard as we can on it."

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