Background and formation Prior to the formation of the United Utah Party,
Brigham Young University (BYU) political science professor
Richard Davis had considered forming a political party for years. According to Davis, he found people were open to an alternative political party during the
2016 U.S. presidential election. He announced the formation of the party on May 22, 2017. Davis became a chairperson for the party. Jim Bennett, the son of former
U.S. Senator Bob Bennett, was the party's executive director until he stepped down to run as the UUP's candidate in a special congressional election to replace
Jason Chaffetz. Nils Bergeson, a former U.S. foreign service officer, became the party's second executive director in 2018.
2017 Utah congressional election On May 26, 2017, Jim Bennett attempted to apply as an affiliated candidate in
Utah's 3rd congressional district special election, 2017, but the lieutenant governor's office rejected the application because the elections office had not had 30 days to finish certifying the new party. Bennett refused to register as an unaffiliated candidate. Utah's elections office certified the party on June 27, 2017. On June 21, 2017, the UUP filed a lawsuit against Utah state officials to get Bennett's name on the ballot. In court, a Utah state attorney argued that the UUP could have formed earlier to meet the application deadline. A party lawyer argued that only a "soothsayer" could have predicted that Jason Chaffetz would resign from the
U.S. House of Representatives. On August 2, 2017, a federal judge in charge of the case ordered Utah election officials to allow Bennett on the ballot under the United Utah Party. In late September 2017, Bennett narrowly qualified to participate in the Utah Debate Commission's selective debate, along with the election's Republican and Democratic candidates,
John Curtis and
Kathie Allen. The special election was held on November 7, 2017, and Bennett conceded the race hours after the polls closed, and initial results showed Curtis winning and Allen getting second place. Bennett got third place with 9.3% of the popular vote.
Results 2018 House of Representatives elections In February 2018, two UUP candidates announced they would run for the
United States House of Representatives: Jan Garbett and
Logan, Utah native Eric Eliason, who challenged Republicans
Chris Stewart and
Rob Bishop respectively. On March 20, 2018, the United Utah Party held caucuses at 19 locations with attendance of just over 900 people, when the party had just over 400 registered members. Garbett later withdrew from the race. Eliason was defeated, receiving 11.6% of the vote as Rob Bishop was reelected to what would become his final term.
Results 2020 elections Candidates 2022 elections Candidates 2023 elections In 2023, Chris Stewart resigned as the representative of
Utah's 2nd congressional district, prompting a
special election on November 21. January Walker, the party's nominee for the 4th district in 2022, won the United Utah Party's nominating convention, placing 5th in the special election with 2,856 votes and 1.81%.
2024 elections Candidates Forward Party merger On April 2, 2025, the party announced plans to merge with the
Forward Party of Utah, and during a joint convention on April 26, members of both parties voted in favor of the merger. ==Political positions==