Utah’s once-a-decade redistricting process is barreling to a close with both the legislative and independent redistricting committees are finishing up public meetings around the state. The independent group already has several map proposals online. They will present their final proposals to lawmakers on November 1. Chairman Rex Facer says they have…

Given the strength of former President Donald Trump’s hold on the GOP, it’s reasonable to believe the party’s future is leaning harder into the MAGA agenda. But Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan thinks that’s the wrong path. Duncan says Trump gave his supporters and other Republicans a “short-term sugar high” with his bombastic and combative style. But…

Rep. Suzanne Harrison, D-Draper, has a unique perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is she a Utah Legislator, but she also works in a busy operating room as an anesthesiologist. “As someone who’s been working in our hospitals during this fourth wave, this is a huge problem,” Harrison says. “Our staff is exhausted and we’re having a hard ti…

On this week’s show, we chat with Grant Burningham. He’s the new Statewatch Editor for The Tribune and will lead our government and politics reporting team. He discusses the importance of holding public officials accountable, and providing context to political news. Author Ben Mezrich also joins the podcast this week. His book, “The Accidental Bill…

Author Tom Nichols says democracy across the globe is under threat, but not for the reason you may think. Nichols, who is a contributing writer for The Atlantic, argues technologically advanced societies have increased their standard of living so rapidly, citizens are becoming bored, and care less about their fellow citizens. “People just got used …

In 2017, then-Weber County Commissioner Kerry Gibson was the subject of a criminal investigation. After several months, prosecutors declined to file charges against Gibson because they said there was not enough evidence to charge him with the crime of misusing public money. The report on the investigation, and what prosecutors found, remained out o…

After a pandemic-related delay, the Census Bureau finally released the data Utah lawmakers will use to redraw the state’s political boundaries in the once-a-decade redistricting process. On this episode, we bring you an on-the-record conversation between The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board and Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield and Sen. Scott Sandall, R…

Sen. Mitt Romney was warned ahead of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that he might be the target of violence from supporters of former President Donald Trump. That warning came from fellow Sen. Angus King of Maine, who himself was alerted to possible violence by America’s top military leaders. That’s just one of the dozens of startling rev…

Rep. Blake Moore violated federal law by failing to report up to $1.1 million in stock trades. But, for that he was fined just $200 by the House Ethics Committee. Dave Levinthal, Deputy Washington Editor for Insider.com, who broke the Moore story, says these laws are in place for a reason. “It was put in place to defend against potential conflicts …

The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, is holding its annual meeting in Salt Lake City next week. Lawmakers, mostly Republicans, from around the country will converge on Utah. There, they’ll meet with representatives from the private sector to discuss public policy proposals that may be implemented in statehouses around the country. Th…

New Utah GOP Chairman Carson Jorgensen says he thinks the current debate over the teaching of race and racism in Utah’s schools is an important one to have, but he doesn’t want the rhetoric to lead to bad policy. “We have to be very specific when we’re talking about critical race theory because it’s become a kind of a byword at this point. A lot of…

America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was driven as much by politics as it was by science as policymakers tried to balance public health with economic health. Andy Slavitt, who headed up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the Obama administration says 15 months on, many of the choices made by our leaders don’t look so great…

Last year, Sen. Mike Lee caused a bit of a firestorm on social media when he published a tweetstorm attacking democracy. “Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prosperity are. We want the human condition to flourish,” Lee tweeted. Lee’s statement was surprising, but it really shouldn’t be according to Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National…

A proposed bill to bar transgendered athletes from participating in girl’s sports in Utah will come back for the second time in the 2022 Utah Legislature. Drew Armstrong is the co-founder of “Dragon Dads,” a support group for fathers of transgender and non-binary children, is a Utah Republican delegate. Armstrong says the proposal is a solution in …

On this week’s episode, we go inside The Salt Lake Tribune and listen in to a conversation between Rep. Blake Moore and the Tribune’s Editorial Board. Moore spoke with the board earlier this week to discuss a myriad of issues from Hill Air Force Base to public lands and the future of the Republican Party. Moore also discussed whether he’s getting a…

The sight of Sen. Mitt Romney, who was the GOP nominee for president just nine years ago, getting booed by Utah Republicans was “just terrible,” says longtime political pundit Chris Matthews. “I don’t understand it. He didn’t do anything wrong,” Matthews told the Tribune on this week’s Utah Politics podcast. “He’s been a Republican all his life. He…

The controversy over critical race theory is not confined to Utah. Several other Republican-controlled states are moving to restrict how race and racism are addressed in their K-12 classrooms. Axios race and justice reporter Russell Contreras joins us this week to discuss how the controversy is playing out in other states. He says fears that teache…

Critical race theory is not currently taught in Utah’s schools, and there are no plans to introduce the curriculum anytime soon. So why are so many people worried about it? The concept looks at American history by examining how racism and racial issues have shaped events and led us to where we are today. “A lot of people grew up with a pretty narro…

Utah is preparing for the once-per-decade process of redrawing political maps. This week we take a deep dive into redistricting with Rex Facer, the chairman of Utah’s independent redistricting commission. He discusses the rules and considerations he and the other members of the commission have to consider when they get down to drawing new map propo…

This week on the “Utah Politics” podcast, we discuss the future of the Republican Party and whether the GOP needs to break up with former President Donald Trump. First, we speak with Evan McMullin. The former independent presidential candidate joined with 150 other Republicans to release a “Call for American Renewal,” urging the GOP to focus on iss…

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney was loudly booed by Utah Republicans at their state convention last week. It was an astonishing development given he was the party’s presidential nominee less than a decade ago. We’re joined this week by political strategist Mike Madrid, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project and the former political director of the California GO…

Utah Republican Party Chairman Derek Brown decided to step down from helming Utah’s dominant political organization after one term. He joins the podcast this week to discuss what he accomplished during his two years in charge, the challenges his successor will face, and what’s next for him. He also talks about some long-term issues that could impac…

Utah lawmakers are planning to study whether the state can ignore or refuse to enforce new federal laws to restrict firearms. Several other states are considering similar legislation. Adam Skaggs from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence joins is our guest this week. He discusses the push to expand gun rights in Republican-led states, Ut…

Republican Rep. Blake Moore says he’s interested in working with Democrats on a package to fund needed infrastructure especially if it will benefit parts of his district. “Ogden has a rapid transit system coming in that’s going to be really great for students. Park City may get the Olympics again, so there may be some ways we can support that and t…

Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz joins the podcast this week to discuss his brand new book. In They Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: The Truth About Disaster Liberalism, Chaffetz argues Democrats, and sometimes Republicans, use the pretense of an emergency situation to push through unrelated policy proposals. “They take these crises and try to levera…

Sen. Mike Lee recently traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to observe the growing humanitarian crisis there. He discusses what he saw and whether Congress can find any common ground to address immigration issues. Lee also discusses vaccine passports, government spending and his sometimes inelegant use of hyperbolic language. An explosive story from …

A pair of bills passed by lawmakers during the 2021 Utah Legislature raised significant questions about the role of government in policing free speech. The first, SB228 from Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, aimed to put regulations on how social media companies moderate online content. Critics warned the bill was likely unconstitutional or would b…

This week, we're joined by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. He discusses his first legislative session as the state's chief executive, which bills he may consider vetoing, and how he negotiated with lawmakers to set April 10 as the day for ending Utah's statewide mask mandate. He also talks about the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill passed by Congress and we …

The 2021 Utah Legislature is winding down. During the last 45 days, lawmakers set the state's $22 billion budget, which included more than $400 million in new education funding and more than $1 billion for transportation projects. This week, we sit down for separate conversations with House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President Stuart Adams to w…

This week legislative leaders introduced what they say is the largest transportation funding proposal in the history of Utah. HB433 contains $2.26 billion in spending on transit and infrastructure projects. Part of that spending package is $1.4 billion in bonding. House Majority Whip Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, joins the podcast to discuss why he think…

On this week's episode, we're joined by former presidential candidate Evan McMullin to discuss the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the backlash from Sen. Mitt Romney's vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial and the future of the Republican Party. Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Ce…

Two high-profile freshmen in the Utah House join the program to discuss how they’re adapting to their jobs after taking office just last month. We first chat with Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, who is sponsoring several controversial bills dealing with free speech on campus, limiting when voters can switch parties and curbing the use of paid…

Sen. Mitt Romney called his two-hour meeting with President Joe Biden on Monday evening “quite impressive,” but he says the two sides are still very far apart on the size and scope of another COVID-19 relief package from the federal government. In an exclusive interview on the “Utah Politics” podcast, Romney said he hopes that Republicans in Congre…

Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Salt Lake City, caused a stir this week when he said he would file a resolution for the impeachment or censure of Attorney General Sean Reyes. Stoddard says he really wants to investigate Reyes' involvement with Republican Donald Trump's post-election efforts to undo his loss to Joe Biden, and impeachment is the only tool av…

A bill on Utah's Capitol Hill would use ranked-choice voting in primary elections with more than two candidates. Rep. Mike Winder, R-West Valley City, is sponsoring the legislation this year. He says it solves the problem of a candidate winning a party's nomination with less than 50% of the vote, which is exactly what happened in 2020 when Gov. Spe…

The 64th Utah Legislature begins next week. Host Bryan Schott is joined on the podcast by Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and Senate Minority Leader Karen Mayne, D-Salt Lake City. We discuss the top priorities for lawmakers this year as they anticipate having nearly a billion dollars in extra revenue to spend. What will they do with that c…

The 2021 Utah Legislature is just around the corner. On this week’s “Utah Politics” podcast, we preview the session with the top Republican and Democrat in the Utah House. House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Layton, and House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, discuss the priorities for the upcoming session, what we can expect to see in the bud…

Rep. Rob Bishop is retiring from Congress after 9 terms in Washington, capping a career in the political arena spanning parts of six decades. He joins host Bryan Schott to discuss whether the legislative process in Washington can be fixed, what he's learned from his time in politics and what he hopes for Utah and America once he leaves public servi…

Rep.-elect Blake Moore discusses his plans once he's sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives in January. He also talks about why it's time for Republicans in Congress to acknowledge Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election. We're also joined by Tribune reporter Taylor Stevens to discuss the recent report breaking down spend…

Democrat Ben McAdams joins the podcast to discuss his agonizingly close loss in November to Republican Burgess Owens. We also speak with Lt. Gov.-elect Deidre Henderson about what the incoming Cox administration wants to accomplish when they take office in January and her ongoing struggles with the long-term effects of coronavirus. --- Send in a vo…

The coronavirus pandemic will likely end sometime in the next year with news that a vaccine is on the way. In the meantime, Utah lawmakers still must deal with the societal and economic effects. On this week’s podcast, we speak with Rep. Suzanne Harrison, D-Draper, who is a medical doctor. She discusses whether the state’s response to the pandemic …

Utah Democrats were feeling good about where they were on election night, but when all the votes were counted, they had lost some key seats, and only increased their numbers by one in the Utah Legislature. On this week’s “Utah Politics” podcast, we speak with Tribune political reporter Leia Larsen about the Salt Lake County election results. Republ…

Republican Burgess Owens unseated Democrat Ben McAdams to reclaim the 4th Congressional District for Republicans. That seat was the biggest prize for Utah Republicans, but they had tons of success all over the ballot, especially in Salt Lake County. We discuss what went right for the GOP, and where they came up short with Utah GOP Chairman Derek Br…

Sen. Mitt Romney joins the podcast to discuss what he thinks will happen now that the 2020 election is over. Romney says he's alarmed by President Donald Trump's move to fire some defense department officials following his loss last week. Romney also discusses the issues Republicans in Congress can work on with President-elect Joe Biden next year, …

On the post-election edition of the “Utah Politics” podcast, we’re joined by Jason Perry of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. Perry discusses what happened in Utah on election day, whether Democrat Ben McAdams can hang on in his race against Republican Burgess Owens, and the mini-blue wave that rolled across Salt Lake Co…

Election Day 2020 is nearly here. We're joined by Glen Mills, Senior Political Correspondent for ABC4 and host of Inside Utah Politics to discuss how the voting in Utah might go, and what races to keep an eye on. Utah's 4th District congressional race. What impact will Donald Trump have in Utah? The Utah legislative races to pay attention to. What …

Mitt Romney is “enemy number one” in the Trump administration according to Peter Baker, chief White Houe correspondent for the New York Times. “He is loathed in the White House,” says Baker during an interview on the “Utah Politics” podcast. “With [President] Trump, everything is about loyalty, and you’re not allowed to stray from the fold.” “In th…

On the Friday edition of the “Utah Politics” podcast, we’re joined by Evan McMullin. McMullin was a presidential candidate in 2016. He captured nearly 22% of the vote in Utah just four years ago. He is now the executive director of Stand Up Republic, a non-profit group dedicated to government reforms. He’s also a frequent guest on cable news progra…

National Journal's Josh Kraushaar joins the podcast to discuss where we stand with less than two weeks to go until Election Day 2020. He discusses why he thinks Republicans could be in trouble, whether Democrats could pull off a shocking win in Texas, and what to watch for when the polls close. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Goog…

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci frequently begins his day with President Donald Trump attacking him on Twitter. That’s what happened Friday morning shortly before he appeared as a guest on the “Utah Politics” podcast. “I have to be totally candid. It was unnerving the first time it happened,” said Saramucci to host Bry…