Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Unlike the protracted battle for U.S. House speaker that paralyzed Washington for weeks, the race to replace resigning Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson has gone virtually unnoticed.
Wilson, a Republican from Kaysville, is leaving the Utah Legislature on Nov. 15 to focus on his U.S. Senate bid, and two GOP lawmakers are running to take his place: House Majority Leader Mike Schultz of Hooper and Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard of North Salt Lake.
The Republicans, who hold 61 of 75 Utah House seats, will make their choice in a closed caucus Tuesday, with a special session of the entire House the following day to confirm the new legislative leader.
Who's elected to fill the remaining year of Wilson's term as speaker likely won't affect most Utahns' expectations for the 2024 Legislature, since the low-key race appears to be more about differences over internal processes rather than policy or even politics.
"It isn't something that people outside a very small area of politics are going to be concerned with, for the most part. It doesn't attract a lot of attention," University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank said.
Despite being an important position in state government, being speaker of the Utah House "is not high profile in the same way, for example, being governor is," Burbank said. "I don't think it's as if the public is hanging on this race to see how this is going to turn out."
Issues in the Utah House speaker race
First elected to the House in 2018, Ballard says her "boots on the ground" experience, including as House chairwoman of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, puts her on the pathway to becoming House speaker.
Among her goals is making the "internal workings" of the House more efficient in ways she declined to detail because "it's process." She also indicated there needed to be better messaging of the Utah House Republicans' priorities to the public.
"We found as colleagues that we were needing an articulate vote," Ballard said, promising to to spell out the priorities and the successes of the caucus at weekly news conferences during the 45-day legislative session, which begins in January.
It takes strong leadership and bold leadership, quite frankly, in the times we are living in.
–Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper
Wilson held weekly news conferences as speaker, but Ballard said House members "were not always aware of what the messaging was" coming from leadership.
"I do things a little differently," she said. "We need a more concise and specific message that we're sharing. I think it will be more reflective of the body and their work and inclusive of their goals and success."
Schultz said the public not hearing enough about what's getting done in the Legislature has "always been one of the frustrations" among lawmakers. But he said that's gotten "significantly better" since he was first elected in 2014.
"We hold ourselves accountable," he said, noting legislative goals are outlined at the start of each session. "Can we build upon that? I think absolutely."
Better articulating House wins is "important not just to me but it's important to our caucus. That's one of the things that we hear on a regular basis, is, 'We wish we could get our message out better,'" Schultz said.
We need a more concise and specific message that we're sharing.
–Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard, R-North Salt Lake
There are also "a few things" Schultz said he'd do as speaker to make the House operate more efficiently, declining to provide details of the "inside baseball" changes before they're approved by the Republican caucus.
His pitch to House members is that the state faces "big decisions" about the future, particularly when it comes to meeting the energy demands of a young population and robust economy.
"It takes strong leadership and bold leadership, quite frankly, in the times we are living in. You can't be afraid to make a decision. You've got to lead with your chin and you've got to make tough decisions," Schultz said. "I'm not afraid to do that."
What makes Utah's GOP lawmakers different
Burbank said the challenge to the "expected path" to the speaker's chair "is at least a slight indication there's a Utah version" of the same sort of pushback against GOP leadership that led to the U.S. House upheaval.
Nationally, disruption "has become a real feature within the Republican Party," said Burbank.
What makes Utah different, the professor said, is that the GOP holds a supermajority in both the House and the Senate so if a few members of the caucus defect on an issue, it can still be passed. In the U.S. House, Republicans hold only a slim majority.
Utah's part-time lawmakers are also more pragmatic, Burbank suggested.
