Two of the state’s centrist political parties — United Utah and Utah Forward — announced Wednesday they are merging, hoping to create a stronger alternative to Utah’s dominant Republican Party, but they face a decidedly uphill battle in a deeply red state.
Both parties have struggled for relevance in Utah. According to the latest voter registration numbers from the Lt. Governor’s website, the combined number of active voters in the two parties is about 2,400, or about 0.001% of all active voters in Utah. If the merger is successful, the new party would leapfrog the Green party to become the seventh-largest in the state.
In a press release announcing the merger, leaders of the two parties pointed to Sen. Daniel Thatcher abandoning the Utah Republican Party to join the Utah Forward Party on the final day of the 2025 session as a sign of positive momentum for their organizations.
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The merger must be approved by members of the two parties at a joint convention on April 26. In a coup for the fledgling alliance, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, co-founder of the national Forward Party, is scheduled to give the keynote address.
The Forward Party was founded by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in 2022 as a “common sense,” alternative to the two major parties.
The United Utah Party was formed in 2017 when Jim Bennett, the son of former U.S. Senator Bob Bennett, ran under the new party’s banner in the special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Congress. Bennett finished in 3rd place with 9.3% of the vote.
Arguably the most successful candidate for the UUP was Brian Fabbi who ran for State Auditor in 2020 where he finished 2nd with 13% of the vote, nearly 62-points behind Republican John Dougall. However, that result comes with a caveat: There was no Democrat in the race.
In 2024, Michelle Quist ran for Attorney General as the UUP nominee. She finished in 3rd place, capturing just over 7% of the vote.
