Utah’s 2026 midterm filing window opened Friday and unleashed a flood of candidates for 75 Utah House seats and 15 Utah Senate seats on the November ballot. And yes, there were surprises—starting at the top.
⏰ Tick Tock
4 days - Last day candidates (except congressional candidates) can file for the 2026 election. (1/9/2026)
15 days - Start of the 2026 Utah Legislature (1/20/2026)
63 days - First day congressional candidates can file to run for the 2026 election. (3/9/2026)
71 days - Neighborhood caucus night. (3/17/2026)
96 days - Utah Forward Party nominating convention (4/11/2026)
110 days - Utah State Republican and Democratic State Party nominating conventions (4/25/2026)
169 days - Utah's 2026 primary election (6/23/2026)
302 days - 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026)
1,037 days - 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028)
Senate President Stuart Adams is staring down his toughest race yet: three Republicans are challenging him for the SD7 nomination. The highest-profile threat is Stephanie Hollist, former general counsel for Weber State University. Adams’s campaign blasted out a splashy press release Friday announcing he’s running for a fifth term—an unusual move for someone who rarely breaks a sweat on the ballot.
This is new territory for Adams. Twice he’s been appointed to fill midterm legislative vacancies. In 2002, he was chosen by GOP delegates to replace Kevin Garn, who resigned to run for Congress. In 2009, he was again selected by Republican delegates to replace Greg Bell in the Utah Senate, who resigned to become lieutenant governor under former Gov. Gary Herbert.
Adams has never faced a primary election.
In 2004, he won the general by 50 points after taking the GOP convention. He didn’t run for the Utah House in 2006.
In 2010, he again won at convention and cruised by a 50-point margin.
In 2014, Adams easily defeated Chad Curvin for the Republican nomination at convention, then won the general election by 54%.
In 2018, he was unopposed in both the GOP nomination and the November election.
Adams again faced minimal opposition in 2022, winning the nomination handily at the GOP convention. His only challenger in November was a candidate from the United Utah Party. Adams won by 44%.
It’s clear that Adams perceives a threat this time. Hence the press blitz.
Last year, Adams faced calls to resign after he backed a change to Utah law while his 18-year-old step‑granddaughter was charged with two counts of rape of a child and two counts of sodomy on a child—both first‑degree felonies—after she had sex with a 13‑year‑old. Anyone under 14 cannot legally consent.
At the time, Utah law allowed prosecutors to charge 17-year-olds who had sex with children under 14 with a third-degree felony because both parties are minors. Adams helped push through a change allowing prosecutors to treat 18-year-olds in similar circumstances as minors, so long as they are still in high school—the exact circumstance as Adams’ grandchild.
The law wasn’t retroactive, but the prosecutor, judge and defense attorney in the case said it was a major factor in the decision to give Adams’ grandchild a plea deal for a lesser charge. Adams has denied leveraging his position as leader of the Senate to influence the case. In a letter to the court, Adams and his wife defended their granddaughter claiming her relationship with the 13-year-old began as an attempt to make sure the victim “felt included.”
In 2024, the liberal group Alliance for a Better Utah accused Adams of violating Utah’s campaign finance laws for more than a decade, alleging he and two political action committees under his control improperly reported hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign spending. The lieutenant governor’s office dismissed the complaint while acknowledging that his filings violated the law.
In 2022, Adams and two of his grandchildren attended the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The trip was paid for by the Qatari government.
Senate surprise
Freshman Rep. Jill Koford won’t run again in HD10. Instead, she filed for SD5, the seat held by Republican Ann Millner—fueling talk that Millner won’t seek a fourth term.
Koford flipped HD10 in 2024 by 309 votes after losing to Democrat Rosemary Lesser by 500 in 2022. Lesser filed again Friday, setting up another nail‑biter—unless Koford’s SD5 bet pays off. Millner won that Senate seat in 2022 by nearly 30 points.
Incumbents heading for the exit
So far, 10 incumbents are not running for re-election.
SD6 - Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, retiring after 4 terms.
HD7 - Rep. Matt Gwynn, R-Farr West, plans to resign after the 2026 session. His daughter is recovering from injuries after she was hit by a vehicle last year.
HD13 - Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, not running again; GOP delegates picked her to replace former Rep. Paul Ray in 2022.
HD14 - Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, stepping away after five terms in the Utah House.
HD17 - Rep. Stewart Barlow, R-Fruit Heights, retiring after eight terms.
HD21 - Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, not running again after six terms in the House.
HD29 - Rep. Bridger Bolinder, R-Grantsville, won’t run in 2026 after three terms. He was elected to a spot on the majority caucus leadership team last summer.
HD34 - Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Salt Lake City, retiring after 26 years at the Capitol. First elected in 2000, she’s the longest‑serving female legislator in Utah history.
HD60 - Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, plans to resign in March. Gov. Spencer Cox appointed him last year as the state’s homeless coordinator.
HD67 - Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, is running for an open Carbon County Commission seat. She served in the House from 2009 to 2012 as a Democrat, switched to Republican after losing in 2012, and returned in 2016.
Ivory’s soapbox
Rep. Ken Ivory barely held on to his seat in 2024 after he was forced into his first-ever primary contest, where he squeaked past Republican Lisa Dean by just 590 votes.
This year, Dean is back for a rematch. Republican Ryan Jackson is also challenging Ivory for the nomination.
Family tradition
Republican Sam Barlow could become the third generation of the family to serve in the Utah Legislature. He has filed to run for the HD17 seat currently held by his father, Stewart Barlow, who was first elected to the seat in 2010.
His grandfather, Haven Barlow, was the longest-serving member of the Utah Legislature in history, with 42 years in the Utah House and Senate.