CACHE COUNTY – Cache County Republicans are moving quickly to replace outgoing Cache County Council member Barbara Tidwell.
The filing period for would-be candidates to succeed Tidwell on the Cache County Council opened on Dec. 9, only one day after Tidwell announced her resignation effective on Dec. 31, according to Natalie Levi, the chair of the Cache County Republican Party.
That filing period with the Cache GOP will remain open until 11 a.m. on January 9, 2026, but anyone seeking to replace Tidwell over the full tenure of her unexpired term until 2028 will also have to file his or her candidacy with the Cache County Clerk’s office.
Cache County Clerk Bryson Behm acknowledges that the process for a special election under the current circumstances is confusing.
“State code has a whole bunch of different situations,” he explains, “depending on the timelines when people resign.”
Tidwell was elected to her third term of office, from 2025 until 2028, in November of 2024.
“While the Republican Party is responsible for nominating an individual to fill out the remainder of the current term,” Behm said, “the seat has more than two years left.
“Since the vacancy occurred prior to the candidate declaration period, an election for the two-year term will also take place.”
That means that any successor to Tidwell will have to win a GOP special election set for 10 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2026 at Ridgeline High School to claim her Logan District 2 seat on the county council until the end of 2026 and also win a county election in November of 2026 to hold that office for the remaining two years of Tidwell’s term.
“After that two-year term is up, the (council) seat will go back to a normal four-year term,” Behm adds.
Under Utah State Code 20A-1-508 (4)(b), the filing period for the county election in 2026 will be open from 8 a.m. on Jan. 2 to 5 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2026 for qualified political party candidates; and from 8 a.m. on Jan. 2 to 5 p.m. on April 27, 2026 for registered political party candidates.
All candidates must reside within the Logan Seat 2 District, which encompasses portions of the Adams and Bridger neighborhoods, as well as a corridor stretching north to the Logan-Cache Airport.
The qualifications and the application format for the Jan. 17 GOP special election can be found at https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title20A/Chapter9/C20A-9_1800010118000101.pdf
Potential candidates should submit their applications electronically to Levi at chaircachegop@gop.com on or before the Jan. 9 deadline. After that, candidates should mail a signed paper application to Cache GOP, P.O. Box 43, Logan UT 84323.
All declarations of candidacy for the county election in 2026 must be filed in person at the Cache County Clerk’s Office during regular business hours.
For additional information, interested parties can call 435-755-1460 or send an e-mail to elections@cachecounty.gov