SALT LAKE CITY — State Sen. Daniel Thatcher is leaving the Republican Party for a third party, saying legislative Republicans have strayed from traditional conservative beliefs such as limited government and standing for the Constitution.
Thatcher, of West Valley City, announced he would join the Utah Forward Party on Friday, during the final day of the 2025 general legislative session. The announcement was not surprising to many who have followed the Legislature, given that Thatcher has long been a contrarian within the Senate GOP caucus.
Thatcher explained his decision to KSL.com Monday, saying he has been considering breaking with the GOP for a long time, but his frustration boiled over during the recent 45-day session. He described the process as like “going through a divorce” and said lawmakers have been increasingly disconnected from the voters and traditional conservative ideals.
“It’s been escalating,” Thatcher said. “Over the last five years, it has accelerated and it’s gotten probably 10 times worse. But this year — this year is like a Florida man’s in charge and wants you to hold his beer,” he added, referring to an expression of mocking people for making what are seen to be bad decisions.
“I just don’t even know how to describe how bad this year has been,” he said.
Thatcher criticized lawmakers’ efforts to change the vote-by-mail system and what he said were efforts to limit the judiciary’s ability to check lawmakers’ power. He said he was tired of trying to change the party’s approach from the inside.
“I really had intended to just finish my term and then quietly retire from the Legislature and the party at the same time, but this legislative session really accelerated that timeline,” he said. “I can’t keep being a part of a team that has such contempt for the general public.”
Thatcher said he plans to serve out the final two years of his Senate term but does not want to seek reelection.
The Forward Party, founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, gained ballot access in Utah in 2023 and has fewer than 200 registered voters in the state. Healey — who served under Gov. Mitt Romney from 2003 to 2007 — said Thatcher is the first state lawmaker to join the party and hopes he will prompt others across the nation to break from the two-party system.
“I am thrilled that he is going to be our first Forward Party state legislator,” she told KSL.com. “I think that he’s going to be able to speak to legislators … around the country about the actual value that this kind of independence could give them and their ability to be able to speak out on issues that they care about.”
Top Senate Republicans didn’t have much to say regarding Thatcher’s departure when asked about it Friday, but Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he thinks it is “healthy” to have different beliefs.
“That’s obviously his decision. Wish him well and hope he does well,” Adams told reporters.
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