SALT LAKE CITY – Riding on the crest of a “blue wave” of enthusiasm sparked by Utah’s new redistricting maps, Democrats statewide reported record-breaking turnout for their Caucus Night on Mar. 17.
More than 5,000 voters registered to participate to Democratic county caucuses throughout Utah, according to Brian King, the state chair of the party.
That number represented a 34.4 percent increase over caucus participation in 2024, King added. It was also the strongest showing for Democrats since 2016, with a surge in enthusiasm in anticipation of the upcoming competitive race in the new Congressional District 1 in Salt Lake County.
“Democrats are fired up,” the party chair emphasized. “They’re mobilizing and are ready to make an impact. This is how we build what comes next and we’re just getting started.”
Here in Cache County, local Democrats caucused last night from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Biology and Natural Sciences Building (Room 102) on the campus of Utah State University.
The much larger Cache Republican Party gathered in precinct meetings from 7 to 9 p.m. throughout the county.
Democratic Party officials acknowledged that much of the renewed excitement within the ranks of Democrats statewide resulted from an awareness of their improved chances of sending a Democrat to Congress for the first time in years from the new court-ordered liberal enclave in Salt Lake County.
The Democrats hoping for a home-court advantage in the upcoming Congressional District 1 race include former congressman Ben McAdams; state Sen. Nate Blouin; former state Sen. Kathleen Riebe; Eva Lopez Chavez, a member of the Salt Lake City Council; tax attorney Mike Farrell; Luis Villarreal, a software engineer; and Liban Mohamed, a former public policy expert for TikTok.
Long-shot Republicans who have filed in the uphill battle in the 1st District include Dave Robinson, Jonathan Lopez, Stone Fonua and Riley Owen.
The sole Libertarian running in the 1st District is Jesse West.
Areas of Salt Lake County affected by the recent redistricting victory saw especially strong turnout, King observed. For example, the Holliday and Cottonwood Heights areas recorded more than 500 caucus participants between those two communities.
But Democratic excitement was not confined to Salt Lake County, party officials noted. Summit, Kane and Wasatch counties also ranked among the top counties for per-capita registrations.
“What we saw tonight was not a Salt Lake City story,” said party executive director Jade Velazquez on Mar. 17.
“It was a Utah story. From Kane County to Cache County, from Weber to Wasatch, our county parties showed up and delivered.”
Democratic officials said that they planned to release final participation figures as tallies from various counties become available.