Utah News Dispatch
Utah’s only third-party legislator says he intends to resign — but there’s a catch
Sen. Dan Thatcher, a former Republican from West Valley City who is now affiliated with the Utah Forward Party, speaks at a joint convention of the United Utah and Utah Forward parties, where members of both parties voted to merge into one. The convention took place at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on April 26, 2025. (Courtesy of Utah Forward and United Utah parties)
A Utah senator who left the Republican Party earlier this year to become the state’s first lawmaker to join the Forward Party of Utah has announced that he intends to resign before the 2026 legislative session set to begin in January.
However, whether Sen. Dan Thatcher of West Valley City actually tenders his resignation depends on what happens over the next two months — and whether the Forward Party of Utah can actually pick his replacement through a district-wide preference poll or not.
It would be the first situation of its kind in Utah, but it’s possible the new party could hit obstacles — including a potential challenge from the Utah Republican Party, of which Thatcher was a member of when he was last re-elected to represent Senate District 11 in 2022.
Thatcher announced his plan to resign in a post on X on Tuesday night, saying he was “proud of the work I’ve done, the friends I’ve made, and for always keeping my word, no matter the cost or difficulty.”
Utah senator announces he’s leaving the Republican party, joining Utah Forward Party
“My first obligation is not to any political party, but rather to my constituents. To give them the best outcome, I am announcing my intention to resign prior to the next general legislative session,” Thatcher wrote. “In accordance with state law, the Forward Party and I will take this opportunity to carry out a first-of-its-kind, open and honest replacement process.”
Thatcher’s divorce from the Republican Party earlier this spring came as Thatcher grew increasingly frustrated with the GOP, saying it’s become disconnected from Utahns and has strayed from true conservative and freedom-focused values.
In recent years, Thatcher became no stranger to bucking his party’s line, especially on LGBTQ+ issues. Tensions rose between him and Republican legislative leaders, who reassigned Thatcher from his longtime committee assignments and moved his seat on the Senate floor to sit with Democrats.
Additionally, Thatcher continues to deal with impacts from a stroke he suffered in 2022 — but Thatcher told Utah News Dispatch on Wednesday his health and clashes with Republican legislative leaders aren’t why he plans to resign before the end of his six-year term.
He said far too often elections in Republican-dominated Utah are decided by closed primaries or, in the case of midterm vacancies, parties hand-picking their preferred candidate rather than elections open to all voters regardless of party affiliation.
“Why am I doing this now? Because we have an opportunity,” Thatcher said. “This will be the first election I can think of that will actually be decided by … voters with different or in some cases no party affiliation. I think that is the No. 1 most important thing happening here, is this is going to be an election where everyone has a say. And I can’t think of a time when that’s happened.”
However, Thatcher said if for any reason the Forward Party of Utah isn’t able to proceed with its selection process, he’s prepared to change course, including not submitting his resignation letter to Senate President Stuart Adams and keeping his seat.
“I fully intend to resign,” Thatcher said, but he added “if they force my hand then I am prepared with as many options on the table as possible.”
Forward Party of Utah announces ‘open process’ to choose Thatcher’s replacement
The morning after Thatcher announced he planned to resign, the Forward Party of Utah issued a news release saying the party has unveiled a “groundbreaking plan” to fill Thatcher’s District 11 seat “through an open, voter-inclusive selection process, a first in Utah’s history.”
With details outlined on 11chooses.com, party leaders envision District 11 voters will “securely cast their ballots online using a modern voting method that lets them choose multiple candidates they support.”
Phil Boileau, spokesperson for the Forward Party of Utah, told Utah News Dispatch the party plans to conduct a “preference poll” that’s open to all District 11 registered voters, regardless of whether they’re Republican, Democrat, members of the Forward Party of Utah, or unaffiliated.
To run, eligible District 11 residents would need to submit a declaration of intent by Nov. 11 and complete an application by Nov. 14. Boileau said candidates would need to pass a Forward Party background check, agree to sign a pledge supporting the Forward Party’s values, and commit to running for reelection in 2026 as a Forward Party candidate.
He added that anybody already affiliated with a different party could change their party affiliation to the Forward Party of Utah by Nov. 11 in order to become an eligible candidate.
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“If they do that, they qualify,” he said. “But you do have to be a member of the Forward Party to stand up as a candidate.”
He said party leaders envision using an “instant runoff construct,” like ranked choice voting, approval voting or STAR voting, though party leaders haven’t decided which one yet. “We’re still getting feedback from our committee to decide which one we’re going to go with,” he said.
The main driver behind the Forward Party of Utah’s approach is that too many of Utah’s current legislators first took office through special party election processes, Boileau said.
“Roughly one in four Utah legislators currently serving first assumed office through a closed-door, delegate-only special replacement process, where less than one percent of the voters in the district participate,” said Michelle Quist, chair of the Forward Party of Utah, said in a prepared statement.
Once in office, incumbents benefit from a “97% incumbency reelection rate,” Quist said.
“Combine that with a closed primary system and ongoing efforts to ignore the will of the people by overturning Proposition 4, and a pattern emerges: Utah’s Republican supermajority has built a system designed to elect their political elite, and then protect them at all costs,” Quist said.
“The Forward Party is doing things differently,” she continued. “The unprecedented process we’re launching today gives the people of District 11, all of them, the power to decide who represents them. Parties don’t own these seats. People do.”
Potential hurdles
Whether the Forward Party of Utah is able to proceed with its never-before-used process could hinge on whether state leaders or the GOP intervene.
Thatcher and Forward Party leaders believe Utah law is clearly on their side. When a midterm vacancy occurs in the Legislature, the law says “the governor shall fill the vacancy until the next regular general election by immediately appointing the person whose name was submitted by the party liaison of the same political party as the prior senator.”
The law, party leaders said, “gives leeway for the party to define its own replacement process.”
When Thatcher was first elected, he was a registered Republican — up until he switched his party affiliation in March.
It’s not clear whether the Utah Republican Party will protest the Forward Party’s moves in coming months. When asked about that possibility on Wednesday, GOP Chair Rob Axson told Utah News Dispatch: “Excellent question, and not one I’m inclined to comment on.”
However, Axson added: “I certainly believe that the people of the district, when casting a vote for a Republican, expected to be represented by a Republican.”
If any challenges to the Forward Party of Utah’s selection process come to fruition, Boileau said the party will stand its ground.
“We are prepared to fight this, if it comes to that,” he said. “We really, really hope that it doesn’t. Gamesmanship and holding up the courts is another mechanism of those in power that they can do to maintain the power. I’d like to let the people, for once, decide what they think is right and wrong.”
