By McKenzie Romero | Editor
When Utah’s first results hit on election night, Democratic strategist Eric Biggart began scanning the list for any legislators in his party who were performing well. Then, stunned, he kept scrolling.
As more votes are counted it is becoming clear the blue wave that swept across the nation also reached Utah, with Democrats on track to claim 15 seats in the Utah House (while unaffiliated candidates look to take two) and two more in the Senate.
In today’s Dispatch we unpack the unprecedented Democratic wins in the Utah Legislature, Sen. Kathleen Riebe’s reaction to calls from her fellow Senate Democrats saying she should resign, and how emergency voting provisions helped voters in flooded San Juan County.
“There was never a world where we were looking at double-digit (wins) being on the table this year.” — Eric Biggart, a member of the Utah Democratic Party’s executive committee and chair of LDS Democrats, on his initial shock at strong Democratic leads in the Utah Legislature.
Lawmakers work in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the final night of the legislative session, Friday, March 6, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
To political pundits, aside from a couple of races with razor-thin margins, Democrats’ results in the Utah Legislature are likely to hold. That puts Republicans on pace to lose their two-thirds, veto-proof supermajority in the Utah House.
They’re projected to still have a simple majority, 44 of the House’s 75 seats. The Senate will still be controlled by a GOP supermajority, with 20 seats to Democrats’ eight. For a state that hasn’t seen a House chamber without a GOP supermajority since 1993, it’s extraordinary.
Sen. Kathy Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, works on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the final night of the legislative session, Friday, March 6, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Sen. Kathleen Riebe says she won’t step down as fellow Senate Democrats call on her to resign and allege an independent inquiry found “a pattern of conduct towards others that was likely motivated by race, national origin, or ethnicity.”
Riebe said in a statement that she disputes the characterization, hasn’t seen the investigation and wasn’t asked to provide a response. The independent review, which has not been made public, followed a complaint alleging workplace discrimination and harassment, according to a joint statement from Senate Democrats.
Drone footage shows flooding in Bluff, Utah, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Video by Raini Pachak/Bluff Community Foundation)
By Alixel Cabrera
Voters in San Juan County were dealing with the aftermath of devastating flooding as they made plans to cast their ballots on Election Day. But, with expanded options made available through an emergency declaration, a couple hundred voters received help voting.
Utah Election Director Ryan Cowley, said 244 people were able to cast their ballot electronically through the emergency program. The electronic system is designed for military and overseas voters, as well as for people with disabilities. Voters receive access to a portal, and they are able to receive a ballot, fill it out and submit it electronically.
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