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SALT LAKE CITY — The field of candidates to replace Rep. Chris Stewart shrunk dramatically when Republican delegates picked Celeste Maloy at the party's convention on Saturday, eliminating more than half of the 13 declared Republicans.
The United Utah and Utah Democratic parties will hold their special conventions on Tuesday and Wednesday night, respectively, to name their preferred candidates to replace Stewart, who has said he will resign in September.
Although neither party has even a quarter the number of declared candidates as the GOP, whoever wins over the next two nights will likely advance directly to the general election in November.
United Utah Party
The two candidates for the United Utah Party have experience running for office, even if they don't have a history of winning general elections.
January Walker, a director of product management, recently challenged Utah Rep. Burgess Owens for his U.S. House seat in 2022, and earned 6.6% of the vote as a United Utah candidate.
Stone Fonua, a retired police officer, has previously campaigned for a variety of Utah offices as a Republican, a Democrat, Constitution Party member and independent. He now adds the United Utah Party to that list.
Newly elected party chairman Ladd Johnson said he hopes to continue to expand the third party's reach in upcoming elections, even if their eventual nominee is a long shot to win.
"A lot of people will say, 'Why don't you just go be a moderate inside one of the two parties?' That's not a great path right now," he said. "Moderates are roundly mocked and criticized by the two parties, and it's hard for them to get any traction. So, I think the best thing that can happen is for the moderate majority of citizens to get politically organized outside of the two-party system."
The United Utah party convention will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Hunter Library in West Valley City, and online. Both candidates will attend and address delegates before the voting starts.
State law provides two paths to the general election ballot: by winning party convention or by gathering signatures to qualify for a party primary. The convention winner will advance to the general election or face any candidates who qualify with signatures in the primary.
Walker has opted to compete in the convention and gather signatures, while Fonua has opted to compete at convention only. If Walker wins the delegate vote, she will advance directly to the general election.
Johnson said the party has no plans to pull their candidate and endorse one of the two major-party candidates, even if they are trailing in the run-up to the election.
"I think our influence will increase, even if it's not in the form of election victory," he said. "I think as more and more people vote for party candidates, even if they don't win, the Republican majority will have to take note and be aware of that."
Democratic Party
The Utah Democratic Party has three declared candidates who have all chosen to compete only at convention. This means that the winner of Wednesday's convention vote will advance directly to the general election ballot.
State Senate Minority Whip Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, is the only Democratic candidate with experience in office. She has served in the Legislature since 2019.
Archie A. Williams III, a former congressional candidate, and Guy D. Warner, a technology executive, are also running for the party nomination.
The Democratic convention will be held virtually at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Diane Lewis, chairwoman of the party, told KSL NewsRadio. A link to the meeting will be online at utahdemocrats.org.
"We would love to have anybody join us," Lewis said.
