Utah

This webpage houses the responses to 5 questions crafted by the Utah Stance on Science team.

Only official candidates who will appear on ballots were contacted.

Candidates were contacted in October 2026 (with a follow-up to those who did not initially respond) and given the opportunity to answer the questions selected for their race. Only the responses of candidates who answered the questions are included. None of the candidates' responses were modified in any way before being published on this resource page.

For the November 2026 General Election, only candidates in the following elections were contacted:

1. Colorado River Basin states, including Utah, missed a federal deadline to agree on new rules for sharing the river once current operating guidelines expire, and federal forecasts earlier this year projected that Lake Powell could fall to the level at which Glen Canyon Dam can no longer generate hydropower. What policies, if any, would you support to manage the Colorado River sustainably, and how would you balance competing demands from agriculture, growing communities, industry, tribal nations, and the environment? (see "Environment")Asked of: US House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives candidates.
2. The Great Salt Lake ended 2025 at its third-lowest level in more than 120 years, and more than 120 square miles of exposed lakebed in Farmington Bay alone have become sources of windblown dust along the Wasatch Front. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for scientific monitoring of the lake, its watershed, and its air quality impacts, and to help communities adapt? (see "Environment")Asked of: US House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives candidates.
3. Utah’s measles outbreak, which began in June 2025, had surpassed 700 cases by August 2026, one of the largest outbreaks in the country, and about 12.8% of Utah kindergarteners were missing their measles vaccine last school year. As an elected official, how do you approach engaging with communities that have concerns about infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety, and what policies, if any, would you support related to these issues, and why? (see "Public Health")Asked of: US House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives candidates.
4. Utah is seeing proposals for large data centers, including a planned campus in Juab County requesting up to 750 megawatts of electricity, while the state is also pursuing new energy sources, including advanced nuclear reactors. What role, if any, do you believe sources such as nuclear, natural gas, coal, solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower should play in the country’s future energy mix? What policies, if any, would you support related to energy development, grid reliability, and the water and power needs of data centers? (see "Energy")Asked of: US House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives candidates.
5. The University of Utah had 77 of its federal research grants cancelled in 2025 – resulting in the loss of $16 million in research funding. As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding, and why? (see "Science Funding")Asked of: US House of Representatives candidates.