The United Utah and Utah Forward parties, which are set to vote on a merger at a joint state convention this Saturday, have announced who will lead the combined organization if the proposal is approved.
According to a statement from the Utah Forward Party this week, Michelle Quist has been named as the prospective chair of the new organization, should members from both parties agree to merge. Quist is an attorney and former Salt Lake Tribune columnist who ran as the United Utah Party’s nominee for Utah Attorney General during the 2024 election cycle. She was one of three candidates to receive over 100,000 votes in the general election, accounting for 7.2% of the total in a five-way race. Quist also previously served as secretary of the Utah Republican Party.
“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to serve Utah,” Quist said in the statement. “The legacy two-party system has left behind the common sense majority of voters. That’s why building a truly viable alternate option is so critical to both Utah and the Nation at large.”
In addition to Quist, the two groups have also announced a proposed executive committee for the new organization, composed of six members with an equal number of representatives from each merging group. The assortment was stipulated in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by leaders of both parties this month. According to the Utah Forward Party, all candidates for leadership roles are currently unopposed by their respective memberships.
The merger proposal was first announced earlier this month in a joint press release from both parties. The two organizations will convene for a joint convention at Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City this Saturday, April 26, which had already been designated as the location for both parties’ annual meetings before the announcement. Members of each party will vote separately on whether to approve the merger.
If approved, the merged party would affiliate with the National Forward Party but retain the United Utah Party’s platform as part of its foundational principles or similar values statement. While a final name has not yet been chosen, the MOU outlines three possibilities: “Utah Forward Party,” “United Forward Party,” or a third name to be proposed and approved by the national party. The merger would also combine the preexisting assets, obligations, memberships, and volunteer networks of both parties.
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