2026 Utah Senate election

2026 Utah Senate election
November 3, 2026
15 of the 29 seats in the Utah Senate
15 seats needed for a majority
 
Leader Stuart Adams Luz Escamilla Emily Buss
Party Republican Democratic Forward
Leader's seat 7th–Salt Lake 10th–Salt Lake 11th–West Valley
Last election 23 seats; 68.0% 6 seats; 22.8% 0 seats; 0.0%
Current seats 22 6 1
Seats needed 9 14
Seats up 10 4 1
Map of incumbents:
     Republican incumbent      Democratic incumbent
     Utah Forward incumbent      No election
Incumbent Senate President

Stuart Adams
Republican



The 2026 Utah Senate election is scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, as part of the 2026 United States elections. Fifteen of the twenty-nine seats in the Utah Senate are up for election to the 67th Legislature. The elections will coincide with elections for other offices in Utah, including for U.S. House and the state house. Newly-elected senators will take office on January 1, 2027.[1]

The Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the chamber, controlling twenty-two of the twenty-nine seats. The Democrats hold the second-most seats with six, and the Utah Forward has held one seat since Senator Daniel Thatcher from Salt Lake County switched from the Republican Party during the 2025 legislative session. Thatcher is the first third-party state senator in Utah since Republican senator Mark B. Madsen switched to the Libertarian Party in 2016.[2] Thatcher announced his resignation in October 2025, with the Utah Forward Party electing Emily Buss to fill his seat.[3][4]

Districts 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, and 28 will be up for election in 2026.

Retirements

Republicans

  1. District 5: Ann Millner is retiring.[5]
  2. District 6: Jerry Stevenson is retiring.[5]

Democrats

  1. District 13: Nate Blouin is retiring to run for Congress in Utah's 1st congressional district.[5]

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[6] Safe R January 22, 2026

Partisan background

In the 2024 presidential election in Utah, the Republican nominee Donald Trump won twenty-two state senate districts, while the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris won seven districts.

By seat

This table lists which presidential candidate won each district in 2024 that is up for election in 2026.[7]

District County(ies) represented Incumbent 2024 Pres. margin
District 1 Box Elder, Cache, Tooele Scott Sandall (R) R+54.8
District 5 Davis, Morgan, Weber Ann Millner (R) R+11.8
District 6 Davis Jerry Stevenson (R) R+33.9
District 7 Salt Lake J. Stuart Adams (R) R+25.2
District 9 Salt Lake Jen Plumb (D) D+56.7
District 11 Salt Lake, Tooele Emily Buss (FWD) R+34.9
District 12 Salt Lake Karen Kwan (D) D+6.4
District 13 Salt Lake Nate Blouin (D) D+39.0
District 14 Salt Lake Stephanie Pitcher (D) D+31.6
District 18 Salt Lake, Utah Daniel McCay (R) R+30.6
District 19 Salt Lake Kirk Cullimore Jr. (R) R+8.9
District 20 Daggett, Duchesne, Summit, Uintah, Wasatch Ronald Winterton (R) R+35.2
District 21 Utah Brady Brammer (R) R+42.6
District 23 Utah Keith Grover (R) R+31.0
District 28 Beaver, Iron, Washington Evan Vickers (R) R+58.5

Summary

Summary of the 2026 Utah Senate election results
Party Candidates Votes % Seats
Before
66th Leg. 		Up Won After
67th Leg. 		+/–
Republican 14 % 22 10
Democratic 13 % 6 4
Forward 7 % 1 1
Constitution 1 % 0 0
Total 100.0% 29 15 29

District 1

District 1 election
 
Nominee TBD Claudia Bigler
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Scott Sandall
Republican



Republican primary

Filed

Results

Utah Senate district 1 Republican primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Scott Sandall (incumbent)
Republican Fred Hayes

Democratic nominee

  • Claudia Bigler[8]

Forward nominee

  • Julie Quinlan[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 1 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican TBD
Democratic Claudia Bigler
Forward Julie Quinlan

District 5

District 5 election
 
Nominee Jill Koford TBD
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Ann Millner
Republican



Republican nominee

  • Jill Koford, state representative from the 10th district (2025–present)[8]

Democratic primary

Filed

  • Christina Hernandez[8]
  • Dakota Wurth[8]

Results

Utah Senate district 5 Democratic primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christina Hernandez
Democratic Dakota Wurth

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 5 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic TBD
Republican Jill Koford

District 6

District 6 election
 
Nominee TBD Jared Neal
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Jerry Stevenson
Republican



Republican primary

Filed

  • Tami Tran[8]
  • Robert Wanlass[8]

Results

Utah Senate district 6 Republican primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tami Tran
Republican Robert Wanlass

Democratic nominee

Forward nominee

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 6 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican TBD
Democratic Jared Neal
Forward Josh Smith

District 7

District 7 election
 
Nominee TBD Garret Rushforth
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Stuart Adams
Republican



Republican primary

Filed

Results

Utah Senate district 7 Republican primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Stuart Adams (incumbent)
Republican Jennifer Garner
Republican Braden Hess
Republican Stephanie Hollist

Democratic nominee

  • Garret Rushforth[8]

Constitution nominee

  • Jeffrey Ostler[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 7 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican TBD
Democratic Garret Rushforth
Constitution Jeffrey Ostler


District 9

District 9 election
 
Nominee Jen Plumb Thaddeus A. Evans
Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Senator

Jen Plumb
Democratic



Democratic nominee

Republican nominee

  • Thaddeus A. Evans[8]

Forward nominee

  • J. Lowry Snow[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 9 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jen Plumb
Republican Thaddeus A. Evans
Forward J. Lowry Snow

District 11

District 11 election
 
Nominee Emily Buss TBD TBD
Party Forward Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Emily Buss
Forward



Forward nominee

Republican primary

Filed

  • Brooks Benson[8]
  • John Knotwell, former state representative from the 52nd district (2013–2019)[8]
  • Chris Sloan[8]

Results

Utah Senate district 11 Republican primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brooks Benson
Republican John Knotwell
Republican Chris Sloan

Democratic nominee

  • MacKenzie Miller[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 11 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Forward Emily Buss
Republican TBD
Democratic MacKenzie Miller

District 12

District 12 election
 
Nominee Karen Kwan Deidre Tyler
Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Senator

Karen Kwan
Democratic



Democratic nominee

Republican nominee

  • Deidre Tyler[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 12 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Karen Kwan
Republican Deidre Tyler

District 13

District 13 election
 
Nominee TBD Ryan L. Mahoney
Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Senator

Nate Blouin
Democratic



Democratic primary

Filed

  • Silvia Catten[8]
  • Evan Done[8]
  • Taylor J. Paden[8]
  • Richard T. Whitney[8]

Declined

Results

Utah Senate district 13 Democratic primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Silvia Catten
Democratic Evan Done
Democratic Taylor J. Paden
Democratic Richard T. Whitney

Republican nominee

  • Ryan L. Mahoney[8]

Forward nominee

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 13 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic TBD
Republican Ryan L. Mahoney
Forward Colin Smith

District 14

District 14 Democratic primary election
 
Nominee Stephanie Pitcher Tyler Khater
Party Democratic Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Stephanie Pitcher
Democratic



Democratic primary

Filed

Results

Utah Senate district 14 Democratic primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Stephanie Pitcher (incumbent)
Democratic Tayler Khater

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 14 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic TBD

District 18

District 18 election
 
Nominee TBD A. Dane Anderson
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Daniel McCay
Republican



Republican primary

Filed

  • Doug Fiefia, state representative from the 48th district (2025–present)
  • Tracie Halvorsen
  • Daniel McCay, incumbent state senator

Results

Utah Senate district 18 Republican primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Daniel McCay (incumbent)
Republican Doug Fiefia
Republican Tracie Halvorsen

Democratic nominee

  • A. Dane Anderson[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 18 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican TBD
Democratic A. Dane Anderson

District 19

District 19 election
 
Nominee Kirk Cullimore Jr. TBD
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Kirk Cullimore Jr.
Republican



Republican nominee

Democratic primary

Filed

  • Shana Anderson[8]
  • Salvador Giove[8]

Results

Utah Senate district 19 Democratic primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shana Anderson
Democratic Salvador Giove

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 19 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kirk Cullimore Jr.
Democratic TBD

District 20

District 20 election
 
Nominee Ronald Winterton Annette McRae
Party Republican Forward
Incumbent Senator

Ronald Winterton
Republican



Republican nominee

Forward nominee

  • Annette McRae[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 20 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ronald Winterton
Forward Annette McRae


District 21

District 21 election
 
Nominee TBD Kandee Myers
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Brady Brammer
Republican



Republican primary

Filed

Results

Utah Senate district 21 Republican primary, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brady Brammer (incumbent)
Republican Kelly Smith
Republican Seth Stewart

Democratic nominee

  • Kandee Myers[8]

Forward nominee

  • Wayne Woodfield[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 21 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican TBD
Democratic Kandee Myers
Forward Wayne Woodfield

District 23

District 23 election
 
Nominee Keith Grover Tucker Smith
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Keith Grover
Republican



Republican nominee

Democratic nominee

  • Tucker Smith[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 23 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Keith Grover (incumbent)
Democratic Tucker Smith


District 28

District 28 election
 
Nominee Evan Vickers Richard S. Robillard
Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Senator

Evan Vickers
Republican



Republican nominee

Democratic nominee

  • Richard S. Robillard[8]

General election

Results

Utah Senate district 28 election, 2026
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Evan Vickers (incumbent)
Democratic Richard S. Robillard

References

  1. ^ "Utah State Senate elections, 2026". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  2. ^ Gehrke, Robert (March 7, 2025). "Sen. Dan Thatcher is leaving Utah's Republican Party to 'break the deadlock' in politics". Salt Lake City Tribune. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  3. ^ Gehrke, Robert. "'No matter the cost': Sen. Daniel Thatcher, a thorn for Republican leaders, to resign from the Utah Legislature". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  4. ^ Beal-Cvetko, Bridger (December 12, 2025). "Emily Buss wins preference poll to replace state Sen. Daniel Thatcher of the Forward Party". www.ksl.com. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Anderson Stern, Emily; Baird, Addy; Gehrke, Robert (January 14, 2026). "13 Utah lawmakers won't seek reelection in 2026 — but nearly every open seat is contested". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  6. ^ Jacobson, Louis (January 22, 2026). "Handicapping The 2026 State Legislative Map: A First Look". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  7. ^ "Utah - State Navigate". State Navigate. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax "2026 Candidate Filings". Vote.Utah.Gov. Retrieved February 7, 2026.


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