Tag Archives: partisanship

Which way did Utah Co and Weber Co swing?

Trump’s 2020 gains are trivial. He continues to fare worse in these areas than any Republican nominee in a generation. The New York Times notes in passing today that two Utah metro areas (Provo-Orem and Ogden-Clearfield) moved toward Trump in … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Which way did Utah Co and Weber Co swing?

Analysis of voting patterns in the 2018 Utah Legislature

The Utah Legislature concluded its 45-day General Session last Thursday at midnight. Once again, I’ve scraped the voting records to produce this statistical summary. Update (3/14/2018): The Utah Legislature’s website initially showed HB457 as having passed. Their records were corrected … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Rep. Watkins teaches us about party and ideology

Rank-and-file legislators know which side their bread is buttered on. Political scientists have made a parlor game of calculating ideology scores for elected officials based on their voting records. The gold standard for the US Congress is the DW-NOMINATE algorithm; you … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on What Rep. Watkins teaches us about party and ideology

Utah lawmakers loved to agree in the 2017 Legislature

Most bills that make it to a vote pass comfortably with bipartisan support. The partisan rancor that pervades national politics seldom reaches the Utah Legislature. Simply put, Republicans control such an overwhelming supermajority of seats that they have no need to fear … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Utah lawmakers loved to agree in the 2017 Legislature

Unanimity remained the rule in the 2016 Utah Legislature

Utah’s Republicans and Democrats vote together more often than they vote against each other. Last fall, House Minority Leader directed a scathing op-ed at his Republican counterparts. Near the end of the 2016 session, Utah’s legislators approved changes to the (traditionally bipartisan) … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Should we invite them to the party?

Fifty-six percent say that political parties are public institutions and can be regulated by the state, while 44% say that they are private associations and cannot be regulated. The author would like to thank Professors Mike Barber and Chris Karpowitz … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Update: The 2015 Legislature will be Utah’s 2nd most Republican since the Depression

The 2015 Legislature has the second largest Republican majority in 88 years, since the 96.8% majority of 1927. Two weeks ago, preliminary results showed Democrats picking up one seat in the Utah House and holding steady in the Utah Senate. … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Update: The 2015 Legislature will be Utah’s 2nd most Republican since the Depression

Election result: The 3rd most Republican Legislature in 80 years

The 2015 Legislature will be the third-most Republican group in 80 years. This post is based on preliminary election results. Provisional and absentee ballots remain to be counted. Update (Nov 20): Now that provisional and absentee ballots are in, three elections have … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Election result: The 3rd most Republican Legislature in 80 years

What Utah voters want from their Legislature

The three issues voters most want the Legislature to address: Reducing corruption among elected officials, improving Utah’s air quality, and increasing spending on K-12 public education. This post is a collaboration between Mike Barber and Adam Brown. Both are assistant … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What Utah voters want from their Legislature

Utah Voters Support Medicaid Expansion

43% of Utah voters prefer the Governor’s plan, 33% prefer the ACA plan, 13% prefer no change, and 11% prefer the Speaker’s Plan.  This post was written by CSED Research Fellow and BYU Political Scientist Jay Goodliffe with assistance from … Continue reading

Posted in Everything | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments