Elections

Republican Rep. Chris Stewart to Resign, Shifting Utah Politics and Narrowing GOP Majority

Published

4 months ago

May 31, 2023

In a significant development for Utah politics and the Republican Party, R-Utah Rep. Chris Stewart, a six-term lawmaker representing Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, is reportedly planning to resign from Congress before the end of the year. The decision is said to be driven by his wife’s illness, which necessitates his departure from the House of Representatives.

The resignation of Rep. Stewart would leave a vacant seat on the House Appropriations and Intelligence committees and further narrow the already slim GOP majority, reducing it to just four seats.

Furthermore, under Utah law, the governor must call for a special election to fill the House vacancy. Once Stewart formally announces his resignation, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox will have seven days to determine the schedule for a special election. Unless the state legislature allocates funds for a separate election, the dates for the special election are likely to coincide with this year’s municipal primary and general elections, according to reports from Fox News.

Given the district’s historical Republican leanings, a Republican candidate is anticipated to be favored. Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses western Utah from the Salt Lake City metro area to St. George, is a stronghold for the GOP. Stewart secured a resounding victory, defeating Democratic challenger Nick Mitchell by a substantial margin in the 2022 midterms.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, will face tight margins when rallying votes as he can only afford to lose three Republican votes on any legislation. Existing disagreements within the Republican Party have already jeopardized the passage of certain bills.

Rep. Stewart’s retirement not only has implications for Congress but also reshapes the political landscape in Utah. Speculation had surrounded Stewart’s potential bids for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney. The plans have seemingly come to a halt due to his wife’s illness which in term is providing opportunities for other Republicans to enter the political fray.

This announcement marks the second time in six years that a Utah congressman has resigned, following former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s departure from office in 2017. Chaffetz’s resignation led to a special election and created a vacancy in the crucial position of House Oversight Committee chairman.

As Rep. Stewart prepares to step down from his congressional duties, attention turns to the upcoming special election and the potential impact it will have on Utah’s political landscape and the dynamics within the Republican Party.

Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!

Related Topics:Chris Stewart Featured GOP house of representatives Politics

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Elections

Trump, Rep Biggs: invoking the Alien Enemies Act to enable widespread deportation will ‘be necessary’

Published

9 hours ago

September 22, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

At a recent rally in Iowa, former President Donald Trump promised that if elected again in 2024, he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act to enable widespread deportation of migrants who have illegally entered the United States. Since President Joe Biden took office in January of 2021, over 6 million people have illegally entered the country.

Republican Representative Andy Biggs from border state Arizona, which is among the states suffering the greatest consequences from the Biden administration policies, lamented that Trump’s suggestion will be “necessary.”

Speaking on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show, Biggs stated “[I]t’s actually gonna have to be necessary.” Biggs then added his thoughts on how many more people will continue to cross the border under Biden: “Because by the time Trump gets back in office, you will have had over 10 million, in my opinion, over 10 million illegal aliens cross our border and come into the country, under the Biden regime.”

“And so when you start deporting people, and removing them from this country, what that does is that disincentivizes the tens of thousands of people who are coming,” Biggs went on. “And by the way, everyday down in Darién Gap, which is in Panama… over 5,000 people a day. [I] talk[ed] to one of my sources from the gap today. And I will just tell you, those people that you’ve seen come come in to Eagle Pass, over 7,000 in a three day period, most of those two weeks ago, were down crossing into the Darién Gap.”

“And those people… make their way up and they end up in the Eagle Pass [Texas], Del Rio area,” he continued. “So if you want to disincentivize them, you remove them from the country, which is why they remain in Mexico policy was so doggone effective at slowing down illegal border crossings.”