OGDEN – Utah Democrats gathered in Ogden on May 31 to reaffirm their commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive state party organization.
Delegates from across the state also elected new party leadership and adopted a new platform at their 2025 State Convention held at Ogden High School.
As a result of that voting, Brian King will be succeeding Diane Lewis as the new Democratic state party chair.
“Monopolies, in politics or otherwise, aren’t good for anyone,” King told the convention audience, condemning the Republican super-majority in the Legislature that has rode roughshod over Utah politics in recent years.
“I’m ready to lead the charge to hold out-of-touch Republicans accountable; to connect with voters across the state and the political spectrum; and to flip seats from the top of the ballot to the bottom,” he promised.
King is a former lawmaker who also held the post of House minority leader in the Utah Legislature. He ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox during the general election of 2024.
Also elected to party posts at the 2025 state convention were Susan Merrill as vice chair, Brad Dickter as secretary and Catherine Voutaz as treasurer.
A record number of 1,450 delegates participated in the convention balloting, with 600 attending in person while another 850 cast their votes online.
“Today’s incredible turnout shows what we’ve known all along,” King boasted. “Utah Democrats are energized, motivated and ready to fight for the values we share.”
During her term as state chair of the Democratic party, Lewis optimistically predicted that Utah was on the cusp of political sea-change that would result in the traditionally-red state turning blue.
Nothing of that sort emerged in the 2024 general election, however. Nor does such a drastic change seem likely anytime soon, given that GOP loyalists still represent about 52 percent of the state’s registered voters compared to about 14 percent in the Democratic camp.
State delegates also adopted a new party platform that their leaders described as “remaining grounded in our collective core values of economic security, equality of opportunity and investment in the common good.”
King will serve as chair of the Utah Democratic Party until 2027.
To learn more about the Utah Democratic Party, state residents can go online to www.utahdemocrats.org