Utah Democratic Party elects new leadership, Brian King

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Delegates gathered at the Utah Democratic Convention in Ogden on Saturday, May 31– and with all eyes on the race for the new chair of the party, the results are in, with Brian King winning with 52% of the vote.

As the newly elected party leader, King is a seasoned politician with 16 years of experience as a state legislator. He is the former House Minority Leader and ran for governor last year.

“This is a new era and this is our moment. As Chair, I’m ready to lead the charge to hold out-of-touch Republicans accountable, to connect with voters across the state and political spectrum, and to flip seats from the top of the ballot to the bottom. Monopolies, in politics and otherwise, aren’t good for anyone and Utahns deserve better,” said King.

Former Democratic Chair Diane Lewis said she was “delighted to pass the torch” to King, and is excited to see how new leadership moves forward together for the future of Utah.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who was anticipated to speak at the convention and is thought by many to be preparing for a presidential run, shared a message in a recorded video: “Utah Democrats know a thing or two about showing up to the fight,” he said. “You know how to stand up against the odds and get things done.”

Over 1400 votes were counted in the race — a record number and over 600 ballots more than last year.

This year’s race for chair included former executive director of Salt Lake Democrats Ben Peck, former congressional candidate Jonathan Lopez, and perennial democratic hopeful Archie Williams III. Considered a fresh face among the group, Peck, at just 25 years old, has already ran two successful campaigns for democratic candidates — one in Salt Lake County and another in Murray. Many delegates were convinced he may have been elected as the new party chair, but Peck came up short with 45% of the vote.

Election results are as follows:

• Chair: Bring King, 52%
• Vice-Chair: Susan Merrill, 52%
• Secretary: Brad Dickter, 56%
• Treasurer: Catherine Voutaz, 77%

In addition to electing new leadership, the party adopted a new platform, which “remains grounded” in their “collective core values of economic security, equality of opportunity, and investing in the common good,” according to the party.