The United Utah Party and the Utah Forward Party announced on Wednesday plans to merge into a new political organization. A formal agreement will be voted on by members of both groups at a joint convention later this month.
In a joint press release, leadership from both groups announced they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will be presented at a jointly hosted convention on April 26. The combined convention will take place at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City, which had already been announced as the site for both party’s annual conventions.
According to the release, discussions about a potential merger had been ongoing “for many months,” with talks accelerating after Senator Daniel Thatcher switched his party affiliation from Republican to the Forward Party last month. Voting on the merger will be conducted separately within each party, with eligibility limited to members who were part of either organization as of March 31, when the MOU was originally signed.
The signed MOU outlines shared values between the two parties as a reason for the merger, including commitments to strengthening democracy, improving government efficiency, and representing the “moderate majority.” Both groups are also noted as being recognized as qualified political parties in Utah and have previously run candidates who have “drawn material support from Utah citizens.”
If approved by both parties, the new organization will either be called the Utah Forward Party or the United Forward Party, pending final approval from the National Forward Party. The MOU specifies that a new six-member Executive Committee will be formed, with three representatives from each merging group. The new party’s platform will align with the National Forward Party’s principles; however, the platform previously associated with the United Utah Party will be retained as “core principles, a position paper, values statement, marketing campaign, or in such other manner as the officers of the Post-Merger Party deem to be appropriate or useful.”
The merger would also combine the assets, obligations, membership, and volunteer bases of both parties. Additionally, the MOU states that the National Forward Party will indefinitely control any intellectual property associated with the United Utah Party, though it allows for the possibility of restoring authorization should the National Forward Party cease operations.
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