Former Utah State Senator Derek Kitchen joined the "Special Session" podcast to discuss his campaign for Utah's Congressional District 1—a seat that might not even exist by the time filing opens in March.

Kitchen just finished nearly two years in Washington working for the Biden administration.

Now he's back in Utah making the argument that Salt Lake City has been systematically shut out of meaningful representation in Congress through gerrymandering.

"We do not share the same values" as the current congressional delegation, Kitchen said, making a direct pitch that Salt Lake County needs someone who won't "waffle or waver" on issues like reproductive health and workers' rights.

But there's a catch: Republicans are actively trying to overturn the maps through the courts while Kitchen and other candidates try to build campaigns. The legislature just pushed filing deadlines back to March, hoping their appeals will succeed in reinstating maps that crack Salt Lake County into multiple districts.

Kitchen says he's running no matter what the legislature does. "We cannot sit around and wait for them to tinker with our democracy."

Listen to the full episode at this link.