Utah held its general election on November 6, 2018, deciding 90 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Democrats added seats in both chambers without denting the Republican supermajority, so the election's lasting changes came from the ballot instead: voters approved citizen initiatives on medical marijuana, Medicaid expansion, and independent redistricting over the objections or competing plans of the state's Republican leaders.
- Democrats' pickups came in Salt Lake and Weber counties. Kathleen Riebe (D) unseated the state's newest senator, Brian Zehnder (R), in Senate District 8, and Andrew Stoddard (D) ousted Rep. Bruce Cutler (R) in House District 44. Democrats also won two open House seats: former legislator LaWanna Shurtliff (D) in District 10 and Suzanne Harrison (D) in District 32. The Salt Lake Tribune later found that Democratic House candidates won a third of the votes but would hold only a fifth of the seats, a gap that fed the redistricting debate.
- Beyond the flips, 3 more House races finished inside two points, and Republicans held all of them. In open District 8, Deana Froerer (D) led on election night, but Steve Waldrip (R) won by about 210 votes once the count finished. Rep. Eric Hutchings (R) held District 38 by about 120 votes, and Rep. Tim Quinn (R) held District 54 by about 160.
- Voters approved 5 of the 7 statewide questions:
- Proposition 2 legalized medical marijuana despite opposition from Gov. Gary Herbert and the LDS Church. Before the vote, lawmakers, faith leaders, and advocates had hammered out a compromise, and Herbert promised a special session to enact it whatever the result; in December, lawmakers voted to override the initiative with that cannabis law.
- Proposition 3 adopted full Medicaid expansion, which directly rebuffed a partial expansion lawmakers had approved in March.
- Proposition 4 passed by less than a point after the final canvass, creating an independent redistricting commission whose maps the Legislature must still vote up or down.
- Amendment C, which lets the Legislature call itself into special session, passed in a power fight with Herbert, who funded the opposition.
- Amendment A (a military property-tax exemption) also passed, while Amendment B (a tax exemption for property leased by government) and the nonbinding Question 1 on a 10-cent gas tax increase failed.
Legislature
- House (75 seats): 13 D, 61 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 15 D, 58 R, 2 other or vacant after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (29 seats): 5 D, 24 R before the election, 6 D, 23 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional Amendment A | Changes the time of service required to qualify for the tax exemption | Passed (78.86% yes) |
| Constitutional Amendment B | Allows tax exemption for property leased by a government entity | Failed (28.38% yes) |
| Constitutional Amendment C | Allows legislature to convene a special session with restrictions | Passed (63.42% yes) |
| Nonbinding Opinion Question 1 | 10-Cent Gas Tax Increase for Education and Local Roads | Failed (34.55% yes) |
| Proposition 2 | Legalizes the medical use of marijuana | Passed (52.75% yes) |
| Proposition 3 | Expands Medicaid under the ACA | Passed (53.32% yes) |
| Proposition 4 | Creates an independent redistricting commission | Passed (50.34% yes) |