Advertise on podcast: Special Session with Bryan Schott

One week. That’s all that stands between us and the end of the 2026 midterms. But before we get there, there’s plenty to dig into. Early ballot data shows Utah Democrats are mailing theirs back at a much higher rate than anyone else, while independents are sitting on theirs. The race for the next Senate president is reportedly deadlocked 11-11, and it could come down to a single Senate seat, plus a little parliamentary trick that would let Democrats pick the winner if they had the guts to use it. I’ll also explain why that “independent voter surge” story you saw last week isn’t quite what it seems, walk you through a federal judge tossing the DOJ’s grab for Utah’s voter rolls, and follow the money behind some recycled anti-trans mailers and a pile of Wyoming cash flooding Utah legislative races. __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

On this episode: Host Bryan Schott breaks down what Amendment B really does: it would require 60% voter approval for any citizen initiative that raises taxes. He explains how it pairs with SB 73, a 2025 law that could make it so any citizen's ballot initiative would have to raise taxes.   He also unveils his updated race ratings for the Utah House showing late Republican spending in seats that shouldn’t be competitive. He maps the narrow path Democrats now have to breaking the GOP supermajority in the Utah House, a path that didn’t exist this summer. __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

Rep. Celeste Maloy and Democrat Kent Udell met at Utah Tech University in St. George for the only televised debate in Utah's new 3rd Congressional District, and Bryan Schott watched along live with commentary, fact-checks and viewer reactions. The verdict? Boring. Maloy, the incumbent, only needed to avoid stumbling, and she did. She leaned on her voting record and some well-worn talking points. Udell landed a few zingers, including "billionaires playing Minecraft" with data centers and a sharp comeback on forest management. But he passed up clear chances to make his case against her, most notably on her role in the public lands sale provision. __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

Utah finally has a competitive congressional race, and Tuesday night the two candidates met on the debate stage. Democrat Ben McAdams and Republican Riley Owen faced off at Salt Lake Community College in the Utah Debate Commission's 1st Congressional District debate. It was the first debate for the new Democratic-leaning seat created after a court threw out the Legislature's gerrymandered map. We watched it live, and this episode is the recording of that livestream. The debate was mostly polite. The two agreed on more than you'd expect from a Democrat and a Republican in 2026. But they split on tariffs, the national debt and the maps that created the district. In this episode: Where McAdams and Owen agreed, and whether those agreements will last past Election Day The redistricting fight, and why neither candidate could avoid it The AI super PAC and data centers Owen's pitch as a Gen Z Republican who breaks with Trump on trade, immigration and AI Who helped themselves Tuesday night, and who didn't __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

In this episode: New Utah polling from Noble Predictive Insights Is a Democratic wave brewing ahead of November? How would a blue wave election impact Utah's legislative elections? Sen. John Curtis asks the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate Donald Trump Jr.'s ties to a Russian oligarch Trump's press ban on CNN, MSNOW and Politico __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

Drew Ballard is a classically trained pianist with a 6,500-song repertoire who spent over a decade performing in piano bars and has recently turned that same instinct for what makes a crowd sing along toward political parody. Known online as Druby.tunes, Drew produces biting takes on well-known songs aimed at corporate exploitation and government malfeasance in Utah. We talk about the leap from concert competitions to bar requests, the data center fight that pushed him into activism, his songwriting process, and what it's like being a leftist vegan atheist from a Mormon farm family in central Utah. Follow Drew on social media: @drewbie.tunes __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

On this episode: Exclusive investigation: The Mormon Meteor 3. The state paid $20 million for the historic race car now displayed at the new Museum of Utah—$10 million from taxpayers, obtained via open records request. Gov. Spencer Cox's new book, Off Ramp: How to Be a Peacemaker in an Age of Contempt, arrived minutes before taping. Live unboxing and first reactions. Charlie Kirk, one year later.   __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

One year after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, host Bryan Schott sits down with journalist Jared Holt to unpack the battle over Kirk's legacy — and how it's been playing out very differently depending on who's telling the story. On one side: a sanitized, martyr-like version of Kirk pushed by Turning Point USA and Fox News. On the other: a mocking, AI-generated "Kirkification" meme culture that has spread across the internet, and a conspiracy-fueled counter-narrative led by Candace Owens that has put Turning Point on the defensive for most of the past year. Holt traces Kirk's evolution from a "watered-down," establishment-friendly college-campus conservative in the 2016 era to the harder-edged, immigration-focused figure—and MAGA "kingmaker"—he'd become by the time of his death, arguing that turning his assassination into a political weapon against the left was, in a sense, the most faithful tribute to what Kirk actually stood for. The two also discuss whether anyone (Jack Posobiec? Nick Fuentes?) can fill the vacuum Kirk left in a MAGA movement Holt describes as increasingly disjointed and without a clear center of gravity; how right-wing and conspiracy-minded audiences are approaching the Tyler Robinson murder trial differently; and what to watch for at this week's UVU memorial event, emceed by Glenn Beck. Jared Holt on Bluesky Posting Through It Podcast Open Measures   __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

On this episode of "Special Session": 📊 Utah House & Senate Race Ratings Updated 🗳️ Senate District 11 Becomes a Head-to-Head Race 📬 USPS Whistleblower Report on Mail-In Ballots 📖 Spencer Cox's New Book, Off-Ramp ⚖️ Two More Appointments to the Utah Supreme Court __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

On this episode of Special Session: Outgoing Senate President Stuart Adams threatens legal action against four critics, including State Auditor Tina Cannon. Her lawyer fires back with one of the sharpest legal smackdowns of the year. Breaking down an absolutely chaotic seven-hour meeting of the Salt Lake County GOP Central Committee, including an attempt to oust the party chair, secret ballots and "election observers." What Monday's Supreme Court ruling on mail-in voting could mean for vote-by-mail in Utah. Enes Kanter Freedom's WNBA sideshow, with an assist from Sen. Mike Lee. (This is a recording of a livestream that aired on 9/25/2026) __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

In this episode: New polling shows Donald Trump, Gov. Spencer Cox, Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis all underwater with Utah voters. We break down why the Deseret News's explanation for those falling numbers is wrong. An update on the ongoing First Amendment lawsuit against the Utah Legislature over press credentials. An analysis shows Utahns love vote-by-mail. Utah's looming Medicaid funding shortage. A Mike Lee fundraising email that quietly keeps 96% of donations. Utah lands at the bottom of the rankings for women's equality for the 12th straight year. The backlash against data centers goes viral with an outrageous ad from Jason Kelsey. (This is a recording of a livestream that aired on 8/19/2026)   __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

Bryan Schott sits down with G. Elliott Morris—former lead data editor at 538, now running the election-data newsletter Strength in Numbers and the forecasting site 50 Plus One—to dig into a trend reshaping red-state politics: Democrats stepping aside so an independent can take on the GOP one-on-one. They start with Morris's recent analysis of Montana's three-way Senate race, where independent Seth Bodnar is outpolling Democrat Alani Bankhead against Republican Kurt Alme—and only pulls ahead of the Republican once the Democrat exits the equation. Bryan draws the direct line to Utah's 2022 Senate race, when Democrats cleared the field for independent Evan McMullin against Mike Lee, and the two trace the same dynamic playing out in Nebraska with independent Dan Osborne. From there, the conversation widens into the numbers driving the 2026 midterms: Trump's state-by-state approval collapse (including in Utah), the "affordability problem" dragging down his presidency, and why Morris's forecast gives Democrats an 85% chance of retaking the House and a 55% chance of flipping the Senate—plus how mid-decade redistricting has already cost Democrats roughly six House seats. It's Utah Political Watch's 2nd birthday! To celebrate, get 20% off a full-year subscription through the end of August at https://utahpolitics.news/2ndbirthday __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

On this week's episode: The SAVE Act is dead (for now). Mike Lee's voter-ID bill couldn't get 50 votes, let alone the 60 needed to break a filibuster Kevin O'Leary's mea culpa. The investor tells MS Now his team botched the rollout of Utah's controversial Box Elder County data center, an issue that helped sink Senate President Stuart Adams' reelection campaign. Mendenhall on the Democratic Socialist debate. Salt Lake City's mayor says Democrats shouldn't let their agenda be purely reactive to Trump Mike Lee's fundraising math. A joint fundraising email soliciting money for four GOP Senate candidates routes most of the money straight back to Lee's own campaign. Utah Political Watch just turned two, powered entirely by readers and listeners. To celebrate, get 20% off a year-long subscription through the end of August: $44 instead of $55. Use code 2NDBIRTHDAY at utahpolitics.news. If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review. It's the easiest way to help more people find it. __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

On this episode: Sen. Mike Lee's SAVE America Act is stalled in the Senate, so he's recruiting dead people to try and resurrect the bill. He invoked Charlie Kirk on social media this week, just a few weeks after doing the same thing with Lindsey Graham. Federal Judge Robert Shelby rules Utah's gambling ban isn't preempted by federal commodities law, dealing the prediction-market Kalshi a major loss, with an appeal likely. Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson highlights the Justice Department's 0-20 record suing states over voter rolls, plus the administration's renewed push to restrict vote-by-mail through USPS. Medicaid work requirements from last year's federal budget bill are set to take effect in 2027, with state officials estimating roughly 40,000 Utahns will lose coverage. Sen. John Curtis backs Todd Blanche for attorney general and takes heat from the right over his temporary-worker visa bill. Diarrhea lettuce and salmonella jalapeños. __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn

BYU sociology professor Dr. Jacob Rugh joins Bryan Schott to dig into the numbers behind Utah's political shift. Rugh says Utah has swung further left since 2004 than almost any other state. He explains why MAGA has never fully taken over Utah's Republican Party the way it has nationally and what that means heading into the 2026 midterms. The conversation covers the collapse of Phil Lyman's campaign, Stuart Adams' primary loss over data centers, shifting voter registration trends, the ongoing Prop 4 redistricting fight, and what declining LDS self-identification means for the state's political future. Guest: Dr. Jacob Rugh, professor of sociology at Brigham Young University. Follow him on Bluesky: @JakeRugh. __________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest Utah political news. 📰 For more Utah political coverage, go to UtahPolitics.news Sponsor the show. Email [email protected]. Follow us on social media: Bluesky TikTok Instagram Facebook Threads X/Twitter LinkedIn