I am a candidate for the Republican Special Caucus to be held on Saturday, January 11th, 2025, from 2 – 4pm.

Rep. Birkeland’s decision to resign now, instead of last summer when she accepted the Director of Policy position with the Montana Grain Growers Association, has taken away 25,000 voters’ ability to choose who will represent them for the next two years. If she had done the right thing and resigned then, party delegates would have selected a replacement candidate for the general election and the voters would have had the final say to choose their representative.

Instead of that fair election process, the decision now falls solely to party delegates with no chance for voters to vote afterward. Because our system doesn’t allow for an open special election to fill vacancies, I am working within the rules to ensure that all voices in our district—those who supported me and those who didn’t—are represented.

When I joined the Republican Party, I agreed to be held to the standard of the party constitution, bylaws, and the platform minus any exceptions that I listed. Two clauses of the Utah State GOP Platform stand out to me as vitally important: Ethics & Standards, and the party Mission because how we ethically govern and legislate is more important than any specific policy and requires my full attention and focus.

I accept the Platform as written below as the standard by which my performance as a candidate and as an officeholder should be evaluated.

ETHICS AND STANDARDS

We demand honesty, integrity, morality, and accountability of our public officials. We will work to expose and stop corruption.

OUR MISSION

The Republican Party is a party by the people and for the people. We appreciate the productivity of our citizens, affirm the infinite worth of all individuals, and seek the best possible quality of life for all. We invite all citizens to join us in working together for a better Utah.