> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://utahpolitics.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Out-of-state money backs mailers attacking Republicans in a trio of tight Utah House races - URL: https://utahpolitics.news/wyoming-nonprofit-mailers-utah-house-republicans/ - Published: 2026-10-26T21:39:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T22:14:50.000Z - Author: Bryan Schott - Tags: Elections, Campaign Finance Mailers attacking Republican candidates in three competitive Utah House races are arriving in voters’ mailboxes ahead of next week’s election. Much of the money behind them traces to one progressive-leaning, Wyoming-based nonprofit. The [Western Futures Fund](https://www.westernfuturesfund.org/?ref=utahpolitics.news), which gives grants to progressive advocacy groups and political action committees across the West, gave $140,000 in late September to the [Majority Matters PAC](https://www.majoritiesmatterpac.com/?ref=utahpolitics.news), which sent mailers in two of the races. Over the past two years, it has also given $1.2 million to Way Back PAC, which is the largest funder of the Utah political action committee behind a third mailer. ### House District 38 A pair of mailers from Majority Matters sent to voters in HD38 appeals to rising public opposition to data centers, targeting Republican nominee Chris McConnehey over a proposed project from more than a decade ago. In 2016, the West Jordan City Council, on which McConnehey has served three terms, approved Project Discus, a planned 550,000-square-foot facility that would house a Facebook data center. “Facebook wanted a massive data center—and $240 million in taxpayer incentives for as few as 70 permanent jobs. Councilmember Chris McConnehey made the motion to approve the project plan and voted for the rezone,” the mailer reads. “That’s a bad deal for taxpayers.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/10/McConnehey-01.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/10/McConnehey-02.jpg) Mailers from Majority Matters PAC attacking Republican Chris McConnehey in HD38 West Jordan [pulled the plug on the project](https://www.ksl.com/article/news/utah/west-jordan-pulls-plug-on-facebook-data-center-deal/41188475?ref=utahpolitics.news) later that year. McConnehey is the only major party candidate in the race to replace Rep. Cheryl Acton, who is not seeking another term. Unaffiliated candidate Sergio Sotelo is also on the November ballot. We rate HD38 “Likely Republican” in our [2026 Utah House ratings](https://utahpolitics.news/utah-house-race-ratings-2026-october-update/). [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/04/2026.04.21-House-race-ratings.jpg)](https://utahpolitics.news/2026-utah-house-ratings/) ****We rated all 75 Utah House races on November's ballot.** [See the 2026 Utah House Ratings ](https://utahpolitics.news/2026-utah-house-ratings/) ### House District 59 Majority Matters has also targeted Republican Luke Searle in House District 59\. Its mailers criticize [his vote against](https://www.parkrecord.com/2024/03/09/wasatch-county-council-votes-for-land-conservation-that-could-make-udots-path-to-a-heber-valley-bypass-rocky/?ref=utahpolitics.news) spending $2.3 million dollars to preserve about 170 acres in the North Fields, an agricultural and open space area northwest of Heber City. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/10/Searle-01.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/10/Searle-02.jpg) Mailers from Majority Matters PAC attacking Republican Luke Searle in HD59 Searle faces Democrat Celeste Johnson, the former two-term mayor of Midway, in the race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Mike Kohler. [Internal polling in September](https://utahpolitics.news/democrat-leads-utah-house-district-59-internal-poll/) showed Johnson ahead of Searle, and she has outraised him according to the most recent campaign finance disclosures. Republicans have won the last two elections in this district by at least 17 points, but [we rate the race a “Toss-up.”](https://utahpolitics.news/utah-house-race-ratings-2026-october-update/) Searle said he is disappointed by the campaign’s negative turn. “Who is funding these pieces, and why are they so eager to get my opponent elected? It’s for sure not transparent, and it is not good for the future of our state,” he said in an email. ### House District 26 In House District 26, a mailer from People for a Better Utah PAC reminds voters of Republican Matt MacPherson’s opposition to the statewide fireworks ban Gov. Spencer Cox ordered this summer. [Cox announced the ban](https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/06/30/which-cities-opt-out-of-utah-fireworks-ban-spencer-cox/?ref=utahpolitics.news) ahead of the Fourth of July because drought had made fire danger extreme across much of the state. MacPherson, who owns PyroCrate fireworks, [responded on social media](https://x.com/UtahVote4Matt/status/2070271457813561476?ref=utahpolitics.news): “No city can enforce this, and sales will continue unrestricted.” “While Utah burned, Rep. Matt MacPherson worried about his fireworks sales,” the mailer says. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/10/MacPherson-01.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ff/05/ff054ad9-05eb-4301-bd7c-0d7e2e111eac/content/images/2026/10/MacPherson-02.jpg) Mailers from People for a Better Utah PAC targeting GOP Rep. Matt MacPherson in HD26 Republicans have put significant money into MacPherson’s campaign to fend off Democrat Michael Finch, and [we rate the race a “Toss-up.”](https://utahpolitics.news/utah-house-race-ratings-2026-october-update/) It could be one of the most competitive legislative contests this year. People for a Better Utah was formed in June by the progressive group Alliance for a Better Utah. Spokesperson Elizabeth Hutchings defended the mailers. "Matt MacPherson's sponsorship of fireworks legislation that directly benefits the business he's a part-owner of illustrates the type of the behavior Utahns are fed up with, and his voters deserve to know about it," Hutchings said in a statement. ### Following the money Majority Matters PAC was formed in January 2025 by Millcreek City Council Member Thom DeSirant, who was executive director of the Utah Democratic Party from 2022 to 2024\. DeSirant did not respond to a request for comment. [Western Futures Fund](https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/western-futures-fund/?ref=utahpolitics.news) is its largest single donor. The fund, a nonprofit established in 2021, has also given $30,000 to the Utah Women & Politics PAC and $20,000 to the Democrats of Northern Utah Squad PAC this year. Among the fund’s large donors are the [Sixteen Thirty Fund](https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/sixteen-thirty-fund/?ref=utahpolitics.news), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit [described by Politico](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2024/11/14/sixteen-thirty-fund-saw-spending-fundraising-dip-ahead-of-2024-00189729?ref=utahpolitics.news) as “one of the left’s largest hubs of dark money,” and the [New Venture Fund](https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/new-venture-fund/?ref=utahpolitics.news). [Way Back PAC](https://waybackpac.com/?ref=utahpolitics.news), a federal committee, shares a Wyoming address with Western Futures Fund. In June, Way Back transferred $30,000 to People for a Better Utah and is its largest funder. Since the start of 2025, Way Back has given more than $100,000 to Republican and Democratic candidates in Utah. That includes $8,000 each to Sotelo in HD38 and Johnson in HD59, the opponents of two of the Republicans the mailers target. Majority Matters has not sent mailers in HD26, but it has a link to the race. Finch’s campaign is managed in part by [Fulcrum Campaigns](https://www.fulcrumwins.com/?ref=utahpolitics.news), a firm DeSirant heads. Since the start of 2025, Way Back PAC has donated more than $100,000 to both Republican and Democratic candidates in Utah. They’ve donated $8,000 to both Sotelo in HD38 and Johnson in HD59. While the Majority Matters PAC hasn’t officially waded into the HD26 race, a connection still exists. Democrat Finch’s campaign is being managed, in part, by [Fulcrum Campaigns](https://www.fulcrumwins.com/?ref=utahpolitics.news), a firm headed by DeSirant.