An overview of candidates for Utah Attorney General
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Eight candidates have filed to run for Utah Attorney General.
Sean Reyes, the current Utah Attorney General, announced last month that he would not be seeking reelection. This means that candidates are running for an open seat. Since then, 8 candidates have filed for candidacy.
Derek Brown (Republican), David Carlson (Democratic), W. Andrew McCullough (Libertarian), Frank Demcy Mylar (Republican), Rachel Terry (Republican), Michelle Quist (United Utah), Trent E. Christensen (Republican) and Rudy J. Bautista (Democratic) all filed for candidacy for the 2024 race.
Carlson, Quist, McCullough, Mylar, Terry and Christensen indicated they were seeking the nomination via the convention process. Brown marked the box saying that he was seeking the nomination through both the convention and the signature-gathering process.
The Utah Attorney General is the legal adviser of state officers. According to the Utah State Constitution, the person who holds this position is elected to a four year term and must be 25 years or older at the time of election. Additionally, the Utah Attorney General must be in good standing with the Utah bar association.
Here’s a brief look at biographical information of each of the candidates as the race ensues. Names on the list are alphabetized by last name.
Rudy J. Bautista
Party: Democratic.
Law school: Brigham Young University.
Quick bio: Bautista is a private criminal defense attorney who practices law at his own private practice Bautista & Campbell. He is qualified by the Utah Supreme Court to defend death penalty cases.
Derek Brown
Party: Republican.
Law school: Pepperdine School of Law.
Quick bio: Brown chaired Utah GOP from 2019 to 2021. He served in the Utah House of Representatives (District 49) from 2010 to 2014. He served as chief legal counsel to former Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch and was also appointed as Sen. Mike Lee’s deputy chief of staff.
David Carlson
Party: Democratic.
Law school: University of Utah.
Quick bio: Carlson has been an assistant attorney general in the Utah’s Attorney General’s Office as well as the former city attorney for North Ogden and South Salt. He has served as the past director of criminal justice for the Utah Attorney General.
Trent E. Christensen
Party: Republican.
Law school: Brigham Young University.
Quick bio: Christensen has served as the Vice President of Community Development for Zions Bank as well as the director of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation. He has been the CEO of VentureCapital.org, an entrepreneurship non-profit.
W. Andrew McCullough
Party: Libertarian.
Law school: University of Utah.
Quick bio: McCullough practices law as the principal attorney at McCullough & Associates. He has served as the chair of Utah’s Libertarian Party. He has previously run for Utah Attorney General.
Frank Demcy Mylar
Party: Republican.
Law school: Seattle University.
Quick bio: Mylar is the owner of Mylar Law, where he practices with an emphasis on family law, business litigation, Constitutional litigation among other issues. From 1988 to 1998, he worked as an assistant attorney general in the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
Michelle Quist
Party: United Utah.
Law school: Brigham Young University.
Quick bio: Quist is the former dean of admissions at BYU Law School. She worked as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in addition to having served a clerk to Judge Monroe G. McKay. She is currently of counsel at Holland & Hart.
Rachel Terry
Party: Republican.
Law school: Brigham Young University.
Quick bio: Terry is the current Utah Division of Risk Management director. She has served as an assistant attorney general in the Utah Attorney General’s Office. She also served as the deputy director for the Utah League of Cities and Towns.
