SALT LAKE CITY — The Forward Party of Utah will no longer have a candidate in the running for Utah's 1st Congressional District seat after delegates at the party's Salt Lake County nominating convention opted instead for "no candidate at this time."
Delegates selected the no candidate option over January Walker, the party announced Friday, which means no Forward Party candidate will compete for the Democratic-leaning district in Salt Lake County. The party said its bylaws give delegates the choice not to advance candidates, which it believes "protects the integrity of the Forward Party from unserious or misaligned candidates" and lets voters ensure candidates don't act as "spoilers" for other candidates in the race, according to the party website.
"Our process gives voters a real choice, including the choice not to nominate anyone," said Michelle Quist, the party's chairwoman. "That matters, both for the quality of the candidates voters will consider in November and for the credibility of any grassroots third-party movement. In Congressional District 1, the voters, not party bosses, made the decisions. We respect everyone who stepped forward, and we stand by the result."
Walker previously ran for Congress as a member of the United Utah Party, which merged with the Forward Party last year.
The Forward Party is running candidates in more than 20 state legislative races this year, but the convention results mean the party won't have any federal candidates on the ballot in November.
Delegates in Cache County also voted not to advance Ben Shaw in the race for Utah House District 3, meaning Rep. Jason Thompson, R-River Heights, and unaffiliated candidate Patrick Belmont are the only candidates left.
