Utah Senate President Stuart Adams faces a battle to hold his seat in his reelection campaign in Utah’s 7th Senate District against Fruit Heights attorney Stephanie Hollist and Braden Hess, an attorney and realtor from Kaysville.
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Adams has received criticism for supporting the construction of a data center, known as the Stratos Project, in Box Elder County.
More than half of Utahns oppose the project. Critics of the project say it will use unnecessary quantities of power and abuse limited water resources.
Adams said the center will help Utah’s energy infrastructure and provide energy to residents. He also called for a 75% reduction in the project’s proposed size and for environmental conservation and protection measures to be put in place.
I’ve sent a letter directly to @kevinolearytv calling for a 75% reduction in the proposed data center project area, from 40,000 acres to approximately 10,000 acres.
I am also requiring that any excess water be treated and dedicated to the Great Salt Lake, even though none of the… pic.twitter.com/tWwpN6FBrM
— President J. Stuart Adams (@JStuartAdams) June 1, 2026
A national super PAC, Make Liberty Win, has spent more than $100,000 opposing Adams, using the money for mailers, texts online ads and more.
Adams has served as Senate president since 2019 and is the longest-serving Senate president in Utah’s recent history. Neither of his primary opponents have previously held office.
Taylor Morgan, partner at Morgan May Public Affairs, a public affairs and political consulting firm, said the race is “uncomfortably close right now for Stuart Adams,” but Morgan predicts Adams will win by a small margin.
“I think it’ll be very very close, but his advantage is that he has Braden Hess and Stephanie Hollist splitting the anti-Stuart-Adams vote there,” Morgan told the Deseret News.
Morgan added that “the rest of the legislature is watching what’s happening in President Adams’ race right now as a clear lesson that they need to do a better job in the future of communicating with their own constituents.”
Tuesday’s election will be the first time in several years that Adams has faced serious competition. In 2022, he was unopposed in the Republican primary and faced a 3rd party candidate in the general election.
The race in Utah Senate District 18 is ‘really is going to come down to turnout’
Incumbent Sen. Dan McCay faces Rep. Doug Fiefia in Utah Senate District 18, which includes parts of Salt Lake and Utah counties.
McCay has served in the Utah Legislature since 2012 and cites his seniority as a reason for voters to cast their ballots in his favor.
“I’m hopeful that a track record like mine is one that shows being conservative and working for Utah families is something that Utah voters still want to elect,” McCay told KSL.
I’m the only candidate in this race with a proven record of delivering tax relief and getting things done for you.
Everywhere I go, people talk about how life keeps getting more expensive. I was raised by a hard-working single mom and now I have a family of my own. Protecting… pic.twitter.com/zf6XxYuXbg
— Daniel McCay (@danmccay) May 29, 2026
On social media, Fiefia pointed to his personal life rather than his legislative record in his pitch to voters.
“I am not a career politician. I’m a husband, a dad, a business owner, and someone who cares deeply about where we live and the future we’re leaving our kids,” Fiefia said in a post on social media. “I got into this because I was tired of watching the same people make the same promises while regular people kept paying the price.”
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“I’m not running to become a politician. I’m running to make a difference, and maybe that’s exactly what we need more of.”
Both candidates are currently serving in the Legislature and have emphasized different issues. McCay has sponsored many bills to cut taxes, restrict abortion and ban pride flags in schools. Fiefia has pushed more for tech safety for kids, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence.
“Dan McCay has been representing that area for a very, very long time. Everybody knows him [and] he is generally well-liked,” Morgan said. “But that being said, Dough Fiefia is one of the smartest, hardest working campaigners out there.”
Morgan said Fiefia’s supporters may be more likely to vote, and “in a midterm primary election cycle, it really is going to come down to turnout.”
McCay faced criticism from his opponent for putting out an ad saying he received an endorsement from U.S. Senator John Curtis, which he did not get. A spokesperson for McCay’s campaign said the ad was never approved by McCay and that McCay apologized to Curtis after it was posted. Curtis’ chief of staff said Curtis is not endorsing either candidate.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary election will face Democratic candidate A. Dane Anderson in November’s general election.
Three Democrats vie for Blouin’s open seat in District 13
In District 13, three Democrats are running for a seat left open by state Senator Nate Blouin, after he decided to run for Congress in Utah’s 1st District.
Evan Done, a progressive, won the Democratic nomination at the state convention in April with 60% of the vote. Done leads his opponents in endorsements.
Millcreek City Council member Silvia Catten received 40% of the vote at the Democratic convention and qualified for the primary by gathering signatures. Catten is the only candidate who has held elected office.
Taylor Paden, a union organizer and socialist, also qualified for the primary through signature gathering. Paden received no votes at the convention and has fewer endorsements than his competitors.
The winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary will face Republican Ryan L. Mahoney and Colin Smith from the Utah Forward Party in November’s general election. District 13 includes portions of South Salt Lake, Murray and Taylorsville in Salt Lake County.
Utah’s primary: By the numbers
Nearly half of Utah’s 29 state Senate seats are up for election in 2026 in addition to all 75 state House seats. Both chambers are overwhelmingly Republican.
The Democratic primary is open to all registered Utah voters, regardless of their party affiliation, but voters must request a ballot if they are not registered Democrats. The Republican primary is only open to registered Republicans. Voters can only vote in one primary.
Of the 2.1 million registered voters in Utah, counted as of June 16, 1 million are registered as Republicans, 297,000 are Democrats, and 622,000 are not affiliated with either party.
In 2024, voting results for the state primary election were first reported by AP three minutes after polls closed, but the tally didn’t surpass 90% until two days after Election Day on June 27.
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Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.