Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Utah Forward Party and United Utah Party merge, marking a historic move.
- New Chairwoman Michelle Quist emphasizes principles over policies for the merged party.
- Former Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher joined in March, boosting the party's credibility in Utah, according to party leaders.
SALT LAKE CITY — Delegates from the United Utah Party and Utah Forward Party approved a merger of the two political parties on Saturday, in what is believed to be the first in Utah history.
As the formal merger plays out over the coming months, party leaders are already planning how to grow as a third party in a largely two-party system. For new party Chairwoman Michelle Quist, that starts with communicating the new party's principles to the electorate.
"We're trying to portray the message that we're principles over policies, rather than policies over principles," she told KSL.com Monday.
Those principles include protecting personal liberty, due process and upholding the U.S. Constitution, and ethical government such as increasing transparency and limiting corporate spending on elections. Party delegates adopted many of those principles as their top priorities for the party going forward.
Even after merging, the Utah Forward Party will remain one of the smallest political parties in the state, but it does have the advantage of having a sitting Utah state senator on the party rolls — after former Republican Sen. Daniel Thatcher of West Valley City left the GOP to become the first elected member of the Utah Forward Party.
Thatcher's move helped spur on talks for the two parties to merge, and although he is not planning to seek reelection, Quist is hopeful that others might follow.
"It's amazing," she said of Thatcher's move. "It obviously put us on the map here in Utah ... and it gives us credibility and helps people realize that we're a legitimate party that they should check out. And he's not the only elected official thinking about it, I'll just say that."
Thatcher was one of the speakers at the joint party convention following the vote to merge, where he told delegates he remains "solidly fixed upon constitutional rights, reason and respectful dialogue even in disagreement."
"Because I believe that the GOP has ceased to uphold the rule of law, the Constitution and its own platform, they are no longer entitled to my support," he said. "My commitment is not to a party or any specific individual. My commitment is to principles."
The Forward Party was founded by former Republican New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and businessman and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in 2021. In a statement, Yang said he began the party after his efforts to "reform the system from the inside" didn't work, saying he plans to "build it from the bottom up with the right incentives in place."
"We're already seeing it working across the country," he said. "We are building a 50-state movement and Utah is at the forefront of that. Already, we're seeing great leaders stand up. Volunteers are building the party and elected officials like Sen. Thatcher are joining us. We're building alliances that turn into mergers, like with the United Utah Party. Utah is a unique state, and it's ready for a new option that reflects its values."
