Utah Democratic Party needs a regime change

Glenn Little
·3 min read
Poll workers wait for voters at the Dixie Convention Center, one of two in-person voting locations set up for the 2022 elections for people who chose not to vote by mail this year.
Poll workers wait for voters at the Dixie Convention Center, one of two in-person voting locations set up for the 2022 elections for people who chose not to vote by mail this year.

Before April 23, 2022, I had deluded myself that the Utah Democratic Party (UDP) was an organization dedicated to good ideas. That delusion was shattered last year when UDP delegates voted at convention to abandon our standard bearer to endorse a conservative charlatan for the US Senate. With the election decided — the charlatan lost — it is time for the UDP to decide whether it was a good idea to surrender, as happened last April, or to do the hard work of challenging the Republican domination of our state.

As a Democrat in Utah, I’m an optimist by definition. I’m confident the majority of Utah Democrats will choose to challenge the status quo. The first step is to replace the current UDP leadership with a team dedicated to rebuilding our party from the grass roots. Current UDP leadership failed us. They enabled a hostile takeover of the last convention based on the idea of surrender — that Democrats cannot win in Utah. Our party needs new, aggressive leadership to stand against the loud voices advocating surrender, and dedicated to vigorously fighting Republican domination. In the December 2022 Party Central Committee meeting, UDP Chair Diane Lewis floated an idea as misguided as abandoning a beloved candidate — making the UDP a closed party.

Couching it as “just an idea,” Lewis would require that future delegates be registered to vote as Democrats, claiming this would prevent the infiltration of Republicans to pack a future convention, as happened last time. However, the immediate problem solves itself — thanks to her inaction last year, Democratic candidates are now forced to collect signatures to keep the UDP from denying them the nomination. Further, this would destroy the greatest Democratic asset — our diversity as a “big tent” party. Ideologies of UDP members run the gamut from socially liberal advocates of fiscal responsibility in the center to self-described socialists on the left. Worse, it would cede more of Utah’s political playing field to the Republican enemy. In Utah one must be registered as Republican to vote in Republican primaries. In 2020, former UDP Chairman Jim Dabakis suggested Democrats register as Republicans to influence that year’s gubernatorial primary. Perhaps enough Democrats voted to deny right-wing extremist Greg Hughes the nomination — a small win. Clearly threatened, the Republican-dominated Utah legislature subsequently passed a law requiring that during even-numbered years, any voter looking to switch parties in advance of the primary election must do so by March 31.

This problem is especially acute in rural counties. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t convince anyone to run as a Democrat in Iron County. Because every Iron County official was elected in Republican primaries, registered Democrats essentially have no voice in local government. Despite being a Democratic Party chairman, state law forces me to register as a Republican to have such a voice. If Utah primaries were open, I’d happily register as a Democrat.

Should Utah Democrats opt to close our party, I and like-minded Democrats would be forced to choose between having a voice in our local government and being Democrats. These values are not mutually exclusive. As the Republican stranglehold on Utah’s politics tightens, such a move would only play to the enemy’s strength. In addition, this would not stop the infiltration of Republicans into the rolls of Democratic delegates. They need only register as Democrats to do so. The best way to ensure Democratic control of the UDP is knowing our delegates. In Iron County, our delegates are our friends and neighbors.

The catastrophic 2022 UDP convention was a body blow to Utah Democrats. Closing the party would compound that catastrophe. Utah Democrats need to retain our status as an open party, to demonstrate our strength in diversity and to maintain our voice in a political landscape that Republicans continue to tilt against us. The UDP constitution defines party leadership’s duty as defending the Democratic brand by supporting Democratic candidates. Last March, I personally asked Chair Lewis to publicly state the party would support its nominee. She refused. The UDP must replace her and her sycophants. Our party may not survive another catastrophe.

Glenn Little is Chairman of the Iron County Democratic Party

This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: Your Turn: Utah Democratic Party needs a regime change