4 Ogden women among the wave of Democrats poised to flip seats in the Utah Legislature

OGDEN — Over the years, Ogden and Weber County voters have sent numerous Democrats to the Utah House of Representatives.

"It's really interesting, because in the '90s, five out of the six representatives in Weber County were Democrats," said Rosemary Lesser. She served two terms representing the county in the Utah House as a Democrat, from 2021 through 2024.

The number has waned, dipping to zero last year after Republican Jill Koford defeated Lesser in 2024 and took over the District 10 post she held. But following Tuesday's elections, three Democrats from Ogden — including Lesser — are on track to win Republican-held Utah House seats representing portions of Weber County, part of the Democratic wave that swept the nation Tuesday. A fourth Ogden Democrat, CJ Hernandez, is on track to flip the District 5 Utah Senate seat from red to blue, adding to the wave from Weber County.

"I do think that it certainly is part of the national wave," said Kim James, a Democrat who held a narrow lead over Jason Kyle, the Republican incumbent, in the race for the District 8 Utah House seat, which covers part of Ogden. "I can't tell you how many times, when I was knocking on doors over the past months, that persons would tell me that they had always voted Republican, but they just couldn't stand it anymore. ... Very often they named President Trump in that conversation."

In all, at least 13 Democrats were on track to defeat Republican incumbents in the 75 Utah House races across the state this cycle, with two additional unaffiliated candidates poised to defeat two other GOPers. If the leads stand as the final ballots are counted, the partisan breakdown of the House would go from 61 Republicans and 14 Democrats to 46 Republicans, 27 Democrats and two unaffiliated House members.

Of the 13 Democratic House hopefuls on track to win, three are in posts centered in Weber County with eight more focused in Salt Lake County and one each in Davis and Utah counties. Another Democrat narrowly trailed the Republican incumbent in the District 4 House race, which the Associated Press hadn't yet called as of Thursday afternoon.

House Republicans are still waiting for the dust to settle from Tuesday's voting, but House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, indicated that GOPers are in a period of reflection. Hooper is also located in Weber County.

"There are lessons from this election at every level, and we are willing to learn from them," he said in a statement.

On the Senate side, there isn't as much change. Hernandez and another Democrat are poised to defeat Republican candidates in two Senate races while a Republican hopeful is on track to defeat a Forward Party incumbent. Those changes, if they hold, would shift the balance of power from 22 Republicans, six Democrats and one Forward Party senator to 21 Republicans and eight Democrats.

Data centers, 'backroom deals,' Great Salt Lake

Like James, Hernandez referenced national politics in the success of Utah Democrats. Hernandez was leading Koford, who had held the District 10 House seat but opted this cycle to vie for the District 5 Senate post, held by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden. District 5 covers part of Ogden and also portions of Davis and Morgan counties and Millner opted not to seek re-election this cycle.

"The number one issue of the campaign across the U.S. had to deal with the economy," said Hernandez, a retired diplomat who worked for the U.S. Foreign Service. "I think people were just disaffected that their leaders were not listening to them."

The issues that kept coming up in her campaigning were concerns about corruption, data centers, "backdoor deals" and the future of the Great Salt Lake.

Likewise, Lesser said many voters expressed concern about "corruption, insider dealing, lack of transparency" as well as rising costs, particularly of gasoline.

Looking ahead to the 2027 legislative session, Lesser said the increase in representation by Democrats will result in more ideas for lawmakers to weigh.

"My hope is that this wave that we just saw will result in both parties focusing more directly on outcomes that really do affect people. I believe that we could do this together," she said.

Angela Choberka, also part of the blue wave in Weber County, echoed that. Also a Democrat, she was on track to defeat Rep. Jake Sawyer, R-Ogden, in the race for the District 9 seat, which covers portions of Ogden, Roy and West Haven.

"I'm so excited about the results overall, just that Weber County has had this shift. I think that will really help our community in the long run, to have better conversations about things that are happening in the community, and then what we can do at the legislative level too," said Choberka, who previously served two terms on the Ogden City Council.

Looking even further to the future, Lesser said whether Democrats can hold on to the gains of this election cycle will depend on them. "That's really going to depend a lot on us and what we are able to accomplish in the legislature, working with our colleagues," she said.

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