The Utah Republican party is poised to choose new state party leadership next Saturday, May 1 where
GOP state delegates will gather for the party convention at the Maverik Center in West Valley City.
Last month, current Utah GOP chairman Derek Brown announced he would not run for a second term,
making it an open election race. Robert Axson, who served as GOP state vice-chair did not file for
reelection leaving that leadership position open as well.
During Brown’s two-year term of service, the party paid down its debt, raised over $1 million, helped
Rep. Burgess Owens win the Utah’s 4 th Congressional District back for Republicans, and accomplished
much more according to a letter sent by Brown announcing his intentions not to seek reelection.
Although Brown said it was time to pass, what he called, the “heavy baton” of party leadership on to
someone else, there is no shortage of candidates lined up to take his place.
Utah Political Underground reached out to all the candidates running for state GOP party chair and vice-
chair. Our interviews of the respective candidates covered various topics, from their background and
qualifications to their thoughts on SB54, the 2014 legislation that allows for candidates to collect voter
signatures to potentially bypass the party convention and thereby qualify for the party primary ballot.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity. The candidate interviews are displayed below in
alphabetical order by last name, respective to each party office race.
Utah Republican Party Chair
Brad Baker
Josh Lee: Tell me about yourself.
Brad Baker: I am a 22-year old student at Weber State University, studying communications with an
emphasis on civic advocacy. I volunteered for the Spence Cox for Governor campaign for a little bit, but
that is basically all of my political campaigning experience.
JL: What would be on your to-do list on day one if you were elected state party chair?
BB: The first thing I would do is to work on instituting an ethic committee. I am a firm believer that
government needs to behave ethically to earn public trust. So, I would fully support that recent proposal
brought up by delegates to institute that ethics committee. Next, I would take a look at our various
fundraising efforts to see what we can do to improve that. I would also look at cost-cutting measures to save money.
Finally, I do acknowledge that because of my age I am a little green around the edges, so it
would be really prudent of me to consult wiser voices to reach out to those who have left the party. Part
of those who have left the party, young and old, has been because of the nastiness of the national
political discourse. And I firmly we need to reach back out to them and help unify the party.
JL: How do you plan on helping the party fundraise money if by your own admission, you lack the
experience and relationships with party members around the state?
BB: Truth be told, I am not 100% familiar with what the party is doing with fundraising, but I am trying to
learn more. Although, I would put a special emphasize on smaller donations. As nice as hundred-dollar-
a-plate-dinners are, if firmly believe that if you try to encourage people to donate $10 here or $15 there
that the power of small donations will help the party.
JL: Concerning the GOP party’s contentious history with SB54, what do you believe is the best path
forward?
BB: I believe the best path forward needs to be reforming the caucus and convention system. Whether
or not you are a big fan of SB54, if you look at the legal track record of attempts to challenge it you can
see that unless there is a radical shift in the judicial system the chances to strike it down are slim to
none. Unfortunately, there has been way too much time spent on what has clearly been a losing battle.
So instead, we should put an emphasis on improving the caucus system and entice more candidates to
participate.
JL: What specific improvements to the caucus and convention system would you seek to implement?
BB: Some of the improvements that I foresee we could do as a party would be to increase access to
candidates who might want to run but do not have the financial resources. Putting an emphasis on zoom
vetting would be helpful to reduce expenses. The party could also have resources to give to candidates
to make running less expensive.
Tina Cannon
Josh Lee: You have held various GOP county party positions and elected office positions in the past. How
do you feel your experience best prepares you to become the state party chair?
Tina Cannon: I have been involved in the party in an active volunteer role since 2002, when Rep. Rob
Bishop ran the first time. And I am grateful for him to turn around at this point and endorse me.
I spent a lot of volunteer time in the republican party. I have been a state delegate, a county party
secretary, vice-chair, and served as the Morgan county Republican chair. I have served on the GOP state
central committee, I have also served on the Morgan County Council, and I ran for Congress. So, my
unique experience gives me a viewpoint of all the people involved in our party.
JL: The state party chair wears many hats, one of the most important is recruiting good candidates to
then will hopefully win and become office holders. Step me through your thought process on how you
evaluate on who will be a good candidate.
TC: That depends on the level of government that you are talking about. The qualifications can be
different because a good state representative is one who represents their area well. You are qualified
when you know your constituency, you know the issues, and you are passionate about representing
them. But ultimately, a good republican will know the party platform and will know how to articulate
that message in a winning way.
One of the issues I think has been very key in this race is how to bring diverse perspectives to the table.
There are some areas of the party that have been leaving over the last several years. We can welcome
them back into the party by championing our party platform and our conservative values. Those family
values, religious liberty, fiscal responsibility, and our personal freedom balanced with those
responsibilities are a winning message.
JL: In the last presidential election, we saw more states around us turn blue with Arizona voting for
President Biden. Utah looked almost like a lonely red island in an increasingly blue western United
States. Does Utah’s projected population boom in the next few decades and raising immigration rate
from places like California pose a threat to the health of the Utah Republican Party?
TC: I see it as an opportunity. I think Utah is a red state because we are a well-managed state and that is
because of our people, not our government. That is why we are so successful and why they all want to
come here. The personal freedom and personal responsibility balance is what makes Utah such a great
place to live.
It is an opportunity to share why this has made Utah such a great place to live. Fiscal conservative
principles, keeping our budgets balanced, keeping our triple A bound rating are all part of what makes
Utah such a great place to live.
JL: SB54 appears to feaster and divide party members across the state. What are your thoughts on the
convention-signature dual path? And what do you feel is the best path forward as a party?
TC: This one is a tough one because we currently have this hybrid legislative-Frankenstein that is the
law. It is not going to be overturned by the courts and I feel Derek Brown was fantastic to work with the
legislature to see if some changes could be made. Unfortunately, that did not happen in the most recent
legislative session and that was discouraging for everyone who is a passionate about the caucus and
convention system.
So, we need to look at how to make the caucus system the preferred path for candidates. Again, that is
why I bring a unique vision on this being a dual path candidate in the past. I can tell you the pros and cons of both paths. The caucus-convention system worked well for so many years because it doesn’t
cost candidates a lot of money.
JL: In your past campaigns, have you used both the signature gathering path and the caucus and
convention path?
TC: I have used both. In my recent congressional campaign, we had to make strategic decisions. There
were people in the race who had the tens of thousands of dollars to gather signatures to get on the
primary ballot. So, we used the same strategy that Spencer Cox used and put together a team of 75
volunteers. Unfortunately, we fell heartbreakingly short from the amount we needed. But by doing it
that way we learned a lot about how it really is.
I’ve been beat up before by those who think I should have only used the convention route, but I had to
spend a lot of time explaining why political strategy is important. So, I know from experience what to do
if people want to gather signatures, and if people want to win at convention. I have experience in both.
Carson Jorgensen
Josh Lee: What would you pinpoint as your number one reason for
running for state GOP party chair?
Carson Jorgensen: My family has lived and ranched sheep in
central Utah for the past 150 years. I feel its time to bridge the
rural and urban divide. Rural needs tend to get overlooked a lot
when policy gets made. I want to help the legislature better
understand the needs of all of Utah. We are dealing with water
shortages and housing shortages.
JL: Is the projected and ongoing population boom a threat or an opportunity to the state and the health of the state GOP party?
CJ: I see it as a threat and an opportunity. Our infrastructure is not adequate to support a boom. Where I
live in Mt. Pleasant, they have had to cut the building permits because there isn’t enough water to
supply to everyone in town. But it’s also an opportunity to invite more people to our state where we can
support them.
Regarding the Republican party, I think the population boom is, again, a threat and an opportunity. If we
play our cards right and do our outreach by involving the precincts more than just one time a year, than
it could be great. People moved to Utah because they like the economy and the opportunity. We just
need to help them understand that it is conservative policies that built this state to what it is now. If we
do that then I think we will attract a lot of new people to the party.
JL: The state GOP party chair has a lot of responsibilities. If elected, what would be on your to-do list for
day one?
CJ: We really need to start working together to get the party unified and working together in a cohesive
matter so we can communicate to all the counties. A lot of people outside of the Salt Lake area only see
the state party spend their resources on Salt Lake, Utah, and some of Davis county. The party chair
needs to include the rest of the state. He needs to give the rural counties the tools to help elect good
republican candidates for their commissions, city councils, and schoolboards.
JL: As party chair, you will spend a good portion of your time recruiting candidates. What qualities make
a good candidate in your view?
CJ: I look at two things: party platform and electability. The party platform is a really good tool to know if
someone will make a good republican candidate. It really is important because it is the standard we
made as a party to tell people who we are. As we continue to champion our platform, we will attract
those kinds of people. In essence, we will create a system to find these people and get them elected.
JL: State delegates continue debate the merits of SB54 and the advantages or disadvantages of it for the
party. What are your thoughts on the signature-convention dual path and what would you do as state
party chair?
CJ: This is the hottest issue for every delegate, because before SB54 the convention was the only way to
really hold office holders accountable. SB54 took out that accountability check. Delegates are angry, and
I have had multiple people tell me that if things do not change soon, they aren’t going to be involved in
the party anymore. The party will lose its party.
So, something must be done. Now, I am going to tell you something that most politicians do not do, and
that is that I do not have all the answers. But I do know plenty of people of do. It would be great to get
something going along the lines of Senator Dan McCay’s SB205. There is also a lot of people talking
about bylaw 8.
In the end we must get everyone in a room that understand these dynamics and put together a plan
that is kosher for everyone. Because the rate that things are going right now, the caucus-convention
system is not going to last.
Scott Miller
Josh Lee: Tell me about your background and experience and how you feel it best prepares you to
become the state GOP party chair.
Scott Miller: I’ve been involved in the grassroots political movement for about 12 years now. I started as
a precinct chair. I fell in love with the caucus and convention system from the first time I attended about
14 years ago. I’ve also been a legislative district position, the executive committee, the county vice-
chair, and served as the Salt Lake county GOP chair for a number of years. I wanted to implement small
business principles to the county party structure and make sure our party was engaging on issues that
affected all people regardless of your “R,” “D,” or “I.”
JL: What were some of your proudest accomplishments as Salt Lake County GOP chair and why do those
qualify you to become the state GOP chair?
SM: The first thing I realized under the small business principles was that the county party needed to
have an income stream that was reliable. So, I started a project called the E-Club or Elephant’s Club.
Club members paid $5 a month or more and become a sustaining member of the party. This initiative
now nets the party about $1000 a month. Over the life of the E-Club, it has raised a little over $35,000
for the party’s benefit.
The second thing I did was create a robust online party presence. As a result of my team’s efforts, we
were number one on Facebook for three weeks running during the election cycle, in regard to subject
matter for congressional district 4 race.
Next, I spent a great deal of effort and money acquiring verified email and phone addresses for all
member of our county. Then we put them through a system to micro-target our candidate campaigns.
This was extremely effective. The system’s open email rate were just about 55 percent.
As state party chair, I would implement these on a much grander scale and help the state party win in
similar ways. I would ensure that every county has their own Elephant’s Club so they can be financially
sufficient and not be controlled by any lobbyist. Replicating the others is paramount as well.
A friend and I invented a data-gathering software, called VETI where we can spread the workload of the
party. That way each precinct would have direct access to the data and so their respective leadership
could update the data when they needed. Implementing this across the county will be game changing.
JL: What are your thoughts on SB54 and the future of the republican party under the convention-
signature dual path?
SM: Our legislature – the employees of the people – do not have the right to dictate to their employer
how to conduct their interview. The Republican party is a private entity, so we have the right of
association and to run our organization the way we want.
The courts did not side our way when we challenged it, but the party has bylaw 8, which says if you
gather signatures then you cannot use the republican name. And if elected, I will enforce every bylaw of
the Utah Republican Party if it is on our books.
JL: In short, will you explain the harassment allegations and how events transpired in your point of view?
SM: We had a complaint that one of our volunteers called someone a name. When that issue was vetted
out back in September 2020, the person that complained agreed that it was resolved and did not want
to file an official complaint. That was the Laurie Stringham issue.
The second issue was the Erin Preston issue. At no time was anything forwarded to me or brought to my
attention of any sexual harassment problems. No one reported it to me until the January 28 th letter I got
from Salt Lake County councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton. When she brought up a complaint with
one of my volunteers back in September, I immediately asked her to send me an email and in detail
explain what the complaint was.
It took Newton, one-hundred and seven days to respond to me, and that was after two prompts from
me. One in writing and one via phone call.
When she finally sent the complaint, it only took me two days to impanel my executive committee to
look into the complaint. I recused myself from the proceedings and my vice-chair ran the meeting. They
decided not to impanel an investigative committee.
I question the timing of the media articles. During last month’s central committee meeting I was running
for chair and the Salt Lake Tribune called saying they were running an article on all of the harassment
claims. I find the timing highly suspicious.
Furthermore, not one of the state legislators or the governor or the lieutenant governor called me to
hear my side of the story before commenting on the situation. Again, I find that highly suspicious.
I rescind everything I said in my resignation letter, besides the fact that I resigned as Salt Lake County
chair.
Stewart Peay
Josh Lee: Tell me about your background and how you feel your experience prepares you to be the next
state GOP chair.
Stewart Peay: As Utah county GOP chair, I helped Rep. Burgess Owens get elected last year. I’ve
practiced law for almost 20 years now in Salt Lake City. I have learned how to build teams, worked with
difficult people, resolved difficult problems. I spent 13 years in Utah National Guard, including one tour
in Iraq.
In my time as county party chair, I have brought people together, something that hasn’t happened in a
long time. I feel that group of accomplishments qualify me to become the state party chair.
JL: In the next couple year, what challenges do you seek confronting the GOP state party and how would
you tackle those difficulties?
SP: The party is going to face a few different challenges. First, there was an article put out recently that
Utah is not as red as it used to be. If you look around the mountain west, more and more states are
turning blue. I think I can do what is needed to bring our people together and win. We need to get all
republicans on the same page and determined to win. Second, we need to make sure the party and our
candidates have the money to run and win those elections. Third, we have to have the strength and
organization to define what we stand for. Too many times, conservatives get defined by places like the
Salt Lake Tribune and the press nationally. We need to focus on issues that matter to people like limited
government, effective government, low taxes, low regulations. If we do those things, we can help our
economy grow. Finally, the party needs to actively recruit younger voters. I am running on a ticket with
Austin Cox. With our complementary skill set, we will be able to go out and get the younger voters
excited to vote for our candidates and help us win.
JL: What are your thoughts about SB54 and the convention-signature dual path?
SP: I think the division between caucus convention proponents and the signature gathering folks has
largely healed. What we need to do is make the caucus system better. We need to get more people out
to their caucus meetings, which means we need to make the meetings shorter and maybe put it on
Saturday.
The caucus has great strengths, especially as we unify and strength our party. One of my biggest goals is
to make it stronger. Whatever the legislature wants to do is up to them, but I believe the caucus system
is already attractive enough that the candidates will always come to it, especially as the signature
gathering system grows more expensive.
Hopefully, a stronger caucus system will become such that the legislature will just get rid of the
signature path or it will become irrelevant.
JL: Fundraising is a big part of responsibilities for the state GOP chair. What experience do you have with
fundraising and why do you feel confident to take up that responsibility?
SP: I mentioned my running-mate, Austin Cox a minute ago. He has a lot of experience in fundraising. He
will be incredibly involved in our fundraising efforts.
As county chair, we had a very successful Lincoln day dinner and general fundraising effort.
Another thing we to do is go out to our rank-in-file members and see if they can just donate a dollar or
two. There has been a lot of success with that in other states and I want to do that here in Utah a well.
Vice-Chair
Austin Cox
Josh Lee: Tell me about yourself and why you feel your experience prepares you to become the next
state GOP vice-chair.
Austin Cox: I have been a lifelong republican for 25 out of my 27 years. I grew up in Utah County and for
the last ten years have been managing campaigns for republicans in the state of Utah. I actually started
at 19 years old, helping a republican get elected on the Salt Lake City council. So, I know what to do in
difficult races. And most recently, last year I helped Governor Spence Cox and Lieutenant Governor
Diedre Henderson win both at the state convention and the republican primary.
I want to help all candidates win that believe in the republican platform.
JL: What would be on your to-do list on day one, and what responsibilities does the vice-chair hold?
AC: A lot of that depends on the strengths of who the is the chair. The vice-chair is primarily supposed to
be supportive of the chair in my mind. You will never have a successful organization if the two top
leadership positions do not see eye to eye. That is why Stewart and I are running together. We believe
we complement each other. He has managed a county political party; I have managed political
campaigns.
We think we check all the boxes as a unified front. All republicans can feel confident in our leadership.
In terms of fundraising, I think Stewart and I’s past success speaks for itself. Gone are the days of
candidates funding the party, rather than the other way around.
JL: What are your thoughts on SB54, and what is the path forward I your view?
AC: Derek Brown and Sen. Mike Lee created a committee to look at ways to improve and modernize the
caucus system. And I look forward at looking at that report and working to strengthen our caucus and
convention system.
Jordan Hess
Josh Lee: Tell me about your background and why you feel your experience best prepares you to
become the next state GOP vice-chair.
Jordan Hess: I’ve spent the past decade helping republicans get elected to office. I’ve also worked on
crafting conservative policy in the U.S. Senate in the office of Senator Mike Lee. I also worked as director
of the policy promotion department at the Heritage Foundation and helped advance conservative policy
across the country by engaging with decision makers and stakeholders.
I am a lifelong republican and I am stepping up to run to make sure we to become like the states around
us which have turned blue.
JL: What would be on your to-do list for day one, and what do you see as your greatest responsibility as
vice-chair, if elected?
JH: The responsibilities of the vice-chair are to support and help the chair execute his vision and most
importantly get republicans elected up and down the ticket. Personally, recruiting good republican
candidates is what I see as my greatest responsibility.
I want to maintain and expand the republican majorities here in Utah. I am ready to work with any of
the candidates running to become the state GOP chair and together help republicans win.
JL: What are your thoughts on SB54?
JH: Unfortunately, SB54 has been a point of contention in the party. I am a supporter of the caucus and
convention system, but I also acknowledge that the law is the law. At this point it is in the hands of the
legislature.
If elected, I’d love to strengthen the caucus system, so we always have large attendance. Turnout is key
to strength of the party and we need to make sure they feel like they have a voice in our party. I would
like to look at possible allowing people to attend their caucus night virtually. For those that can’t attend
in person, they should still have an opportunity to make their voice heard. More options for moms and
dads that cannot find a babysitter will make our party stronger.
