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- Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, says she will not seek reelection and will run for Carbon County commissioner next year.
- Once the only rural Democrat in the Legislature, Watkins switched to the GOP after losing her reelection campaign in 2012.
- She returned to the Legislature after winning her seat back in 2016.
PRICE — Rep. Christine Watkins is joining the ranks of Utah state lawmakers who will not seek reelection, saying she plans to run for a local office instead.
Watkins, R-Price, who was once the only Democrat on Capitol Hill to represent a rural district before swapping her affiliation to the GOP, said she plans to run for an open seat on the Carbon County Commission next year.
"I've decided to stay closer to home and run for a local office," she told KSL Tuesday, citing the challenges of being a rural legislator. "We have to really travel. … For us that live out in the rural areas, we move to Salt Lake for seven weeks during the session. It's not easy."
House District 67, which Watkins represents, is large. It includes Carbon, Duchesne, and Emery counties in central and eastern Utah.
Watkins is the latest state lawmaker to decide not to seek another term. Others include Majority Assistant Whip Bridger Bolinder, R-Grantsville, who was just elected to leadership this year; Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, who previously served in House GOP leadership; Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, who was the first Black woman in the Utah Legislature; and Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, who is the state's longest-serving female lawmaker in history.
First elected to the Legislature in 2008, Watkins served until she was unseated by Republican challenger Jerry Anderson in the 2012 election. After switching parties, she was elected again in 2016, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat Rep. Brad King, and has served since then.
Besides wanting to stay closer to home, Watkins cited an additional reason for leaving the Legislature.
"I think 14 years is enough for anybody," she said, laughing.
Switching political parties mid-career is rare, but Watkins said it made sense for her. She said her voting record as a Democrat was conservative, and she became uncomfortable serving in the minority party while advocating for oil, gas and coal interests.
"I was being literally — and I am not kidding — I was being roasted in public caucus meetings by fellow Democrats because I was not voting the way they wanted me to," Watkins said. "I wasn't going to anyway because I was supporting my constituents."
Watkins said she has learned a lot during her legislative career that she hopes will help her succeed if elected to the County Commission.
"I love the Legislature," she said. "You hear all the negative, and you read all the negative things that people say, and it's not true. We have such a wide variety of people of different educational backgrounds, different work backgrounds, family backgrounds, and it takes all of us to really represent everyone."
Watkins plans to serve out the remainder of her term and finish one more legislative session, which kicks off Jan. 20. Candidates can file to run to fill her seat in House District 67 between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8.
