Utah State Senate elections, 2014

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Utah State Senate elections, 2014

Majority control • Qualifications

List of candidates District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 9 • District 11 • District 12 • District 15 • District 17 • District 18 • District 21 • District 22 • District 26 • District 28

State Legislative Election Results

Utah State Senate • 2014 Utah House Elections

Elections for the Utah State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 20, 2014.

Following the general election, there was no change to the majority control of the Utah State Senate. The chamber was controlled by the Republican Party, which saw no net change to their seats held. The Democratic Party suffered a net loss of one seat, dropping from 5 to 4 seats. The number of vacant seats in the chamber increased from one to two seats following the general election.

Incumbents retiring

A total of two incumbents did not run for re-election in 2014. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Current Office
Patricia Jones	Democratic	Senate District 04
Stuart C. Reid	Republican	Senate District 18

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Utah State Senate:

Utah State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	5	4
	Republican Party	23	23
	Vacancy	1	2
Total		29	29

2014 Competitiveness Overview
Primary competition (state comparison)
Incumbents defeated • Victorious challengers • Primary competitiveness
Major party challengers (state comparison)
Candidates with no challenges at all in 2014
Open seats (state comparisons)
Impact of term limits on # of open seats Long-serving senators • Long-serving reps
Chart Comparing 2014 Results
Chart Comparing 2014 Results • Comparisons Between Years
Competitiveness Index • Absolute Index
2014 State Legislative Elections State legislative incumbent turnover in 2014
Competitiveness Studies from Other Years
2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013

Competitiveness

Candidates unopposed by a major party

In two (14.3%) of the 14 districts up for election in 2014, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of one Republican and one Democrat were guaranteed election in November barring unforeseen circumstances.

Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 12 (85.7%) of the 14 districts up for election.

Convention challenges

A total of three incumbents faced convention competition for their party's nomination. One incumbent faced primary competition. Two incumbents did not seek re-election in 2014 and another eight incumbents advanced past the convention without opposition. The state senators in the primary convention were:

• District 12: Incumbent Daniel W. Thatcher defeated Vicki Griffith in the Republican convention.
• District 22: Incumbent Stuart Adams defeated Chad Curvin in the Republican convention.
• District 26: Incumbent Kevin Van Tassell defeated Susan Hacking Horrocks in the Republican convention.

Primary challenges

The senator that faced primary competition was:

• District 28: Incumbent Evan Vickers defeated Casey Anderson in the Republican primary.

Retiring incumbents

Two incumbent senators did not run for re-election, while 12 (85.7%) ran for re-election. A list of those incumbents, one Republican and one Democrat, can be found above.

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Utah State Senate, a candidate must be:

• A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
• 25 years old at the filing deadline time
• A three-year resident of Utah at the filing deadline time
• A resident for 6 months of the senate district from which elected at the filing deadline time
• No person holding any public office of profit or trust under authority of the United States, or of this State, can be a member of the state senate, provided, that appointments in the State Militia, and the offices of notary public, justice of the peace, United States commissioner, and postmaster of the fourth class, shall not, within the meaning of this section, be considered offices of profit or trust.
• A qualified voter. A qualified voter is someone who is:

* A U.S. citizen

* A resident of Utah for at least 30 days prior to the next election

* At least 18 years old by the next election

* His or her principal place of residence is in a specific voting precinct in Utah.

Convention system

Utah has a unique election system that combines local conventions and party primaries. A precinct caucus is held to vote for delegates to county conventions. Precinct delegates vote at the county conventions to nominate candidates for state office. In order to forgo a primary election, a candidate must receive more than 60% of the votes at the county convention. If multiple candidates run and none receive 60% of the vote, the candidate with the lowest total is eliminated and another vote is taken. Once only two candidates remain, if neither receives more than 60% of the vote, both advance to the party's primary. Each party holds its own caucuses and conventions.

List of candidates

District 2

Democratic convention candidates:

• Jim Dabakis a - Incumbent Dabakis was first appointed to the chamber in 2012.

Republican convention candidates:

• Jacquie Nielson a
• George Chapman a
• Dwight J. Barrett

June 24 Republican primary:

• Jacquie Nielson: 1,012 a
• George Chapman: 666

November 4 General election candidates:

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Jim Dabakis: 16,446

Jacquie Nielson: 5,724

District 3

Democratic convention candidates:

• Gene Davis a - Incumbent Davis was first elected to the chamber in 1998.

Republican convention candidates:

• No candidates filed.

November 4 General election candidates:

Gene Davis: 12,961

District 4

Note: Incumbent Patricia Jones (D) did not run for re-election.

Democratic convention candidates:

• Jani Iwamoto a
• Ross I. Romero

Republican convention candidates:

• Philip Carlson
• Sabrina R. Petersen a

November 4 General election candidates:

Jani Iwamoto: 19,602

Sabrina R. Petersen: 13,084

District 5

Democratic convention candidates:

• Karen Mayne a - Incumbent Mayne was first elected to the chamber in 2008.

Republican convention candidates:

• Skylar D. Burnside a

November 4 General election candidates:

Karen Mayne: 10,225

Note: Burnside withdrew before the general election.

District 9

Democratic convention candidates:

• Kathryn C. Gustafson a

Republican convention candidates:

• Wayne Niederhauser a - Incumbent Niederhauser was first appointed to the chamber in 2006.

November 4 General election candidates:

Kathryn C. Gustafson: 9,943

Wayne Niederhauser: 15,822

District 11

Democratic convention candidates:

• Michele Weeks a

Republican convention candidates:

• Howard A. Stephenson a - Incumbent Stephenson was first elected to the chamber in 1992.

November 4 General election candidates:

Michele Weeks: 7,713

Howard A. Stephenson: 13,195

District 12

Democratic convention candidates:

• Legrand Peeples
• Clare Collard a

Republican convention candidates:

• Daniel W. Thatcher a - Incumbent Thatcher was first elected to the chamber in 2010.
• Vicki Griffith

November 4 General election candidates:

Clare Collard: 5,998

Daniel W. Thatcher: 8,548

District 15

Democratic convention candidates:

• Emmanuel "Manny" Kepas a

Republican convention candidates:

• Margaret Dayton a - Incumbent Dayton was first elected to the chamber in 2006.

November 4 General election candidates:

Emmanuel "Manny" Kepas: 2,548

Margaret Dayton: 11,290

District 17

Democratic convention candidates:

• Scott Totman a

Republican convention candidates:

• Peter C. Knudson a - Incumbent Knudson was first elected to the chamber in 1998.

Constitution candidates:

• Kirk D. Pearson a

November 4 General election candidates:

Scott Totman: 2,949

Peter C. Knudson: 14,431

Kirk D. Pearson: 1,939

District 18

Note: Incumbent Stuart C. Reid (R) did not run for re-election.

Democratic convention candidates:

• Mat Wenzel a

Republican convention candidates:

• Ann Millner a
• Lars Birkeland

Libertarian candidates:

• Dwight Steffner a

November 4 General election candidates:

Mat Wenzel: 4,155

Ann Millner: 11,603

Note: Steffner was disqualified before the general election.

District 21

Democratic convention candidates:

• Sherri Tatton a

Republican convention candidates:

• Jerry W. Stevenson a - Incumbent Stevenson was first appointed to the chamber in 2010.

November 4 General election candidates:

Sherri Tatton: 3,309

Jerry W. Stevenson: 11,950

District 22

Democratic convention candidates:

• Kip Sayre a

Republican convention candidates:

• J. Stuart Adams a - Incumbent Adams was first appointed to the chamber in 2009.
• Chad Lee Curvin

Libertarian candidates:

• Brent Zimmerman a

November 4 General election candidates:

Kip Sayre: 4,417

J. Stuart Adams: 16,605

Brent Zimmerman: 1,643

District 26

Democratic convention candidates:

• Wayne Stevens a

Republican convention candidates:

• Susan Hacking Horrocks
• Kevin T. Van Tassell a - Incumbent Van Tassell was first elected to the chamber in 2006.

November 4 General election candidates:

Wayne Stevens: 6,622

Kevin T. Van Tassell: 15,249

District 28

Democratic convention candidates:

• No candidates filed.

June 24 Republican primary:

• Casey O. Anderson: 2,656
• Evan J. Vickers: 5,390 a - Incumbent Vickers was first elected to the chamber in 2012.

November 4 General election candidates:

Evan J. Vickers: 16,613

See also

• Utah State Senate
• Utah State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Utah Lieutenant Governor - Official 2014 General Election Results - Downloadable
• Utah Lieutenant Governor - 2014 General Election Results
• Utah Lieutenant Governor - 2014 Primary Election Results
• Utah Lieutenant Governor - 2014 Candidate Filings

Footnotes

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Current members of the Utah State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Evan Vickers

Minority Leader:Luz Escamilla

Senators

District 1

Scott Sandall (R)

District 2

Chris Wilson (R)

District 3

John Johnson (R)

District 4

David Buxton (R)

District 5

Ann Millner (R)

District 6

Jerry Stevenson (R)

District 7

Stuart Adams (R)

District 8

Todd Weiler (R)

District 9

Jennifer Plumb (D)

District 10

Luz Escamilla (D)

District 11

Daniel Thatcher (R)

District 12

Karen Kwan (D)

District 13

Nate Blouin (D)

District 14

Stephanie Pitcher (D)

District 15

Kathleen Riebe (D)

District 16

Wayne Harper (R)

District 17

Lincoln Fillmore (R)

District 18

Dan McCay (R)

District 19

Kirk Cullimore (R)

District 20

Ronald Winterton (R)

District 21

Mike Kennedy (R)

District 22

Heidi Balderree (R)

District 23

Keith Grover (R)

District 24

Curtis Bramble (R)

District 25

Mike McKell (R)

District 26

David Hinkins (R)

District 27

Derrin Owens (R)

District 28

Evan Vickers (R)

District 29

Don Ipson (R)

Republican Party (23)

Democratic Party (6)