Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley Metropolis, speaks towards HB267, a invoice that will ban collective bargaining for public staff, on the Capitol in Salt Lake Metropolis on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Picture by Spenser Heaps for Utah Information Dispatch)
This story story has been up to date.
A Republican Utah senator says he’s had sufficient of a celebration that he believes is turning into disconnected from Utahns and straying from true conservative and freedom-focused ideas.
Standing within the Utah Capitol rotunda, Sen. Dan Thatcher, of West Valley Metropolis, informed a gaggle of reporters Friday — the ultimate day of the Legislature’s 2025 session — that he can be unaffiliating from the Republican Celebration.
As a substitute, he mentioned he’ll be becoming a member of the Utah Forward Party — a centrist occasion that has the slogan “Not left. Not proper. Ahead.”
Standing alongside a handful of Ahead Celebration leaders, Thatcher mentioned he and his spouse had been discussing the change for “a very, actually very long time.” However he mentioned the Utah Legislature’s 2025 session (which has included laws centered on facilitating the Trump administration’s deportation targets, proscribing voting by mail, banning LGBTQ+ flags from faculties and public property, and extra) was the ultimate straw — or bale of hay, as he put it — that broke the camel’s again.
“Sure, this legislative session did speed up this system, however I believe this was at all times the way in which,” Thatcher mentioned. “As a result of I can’t be part of this anymore.”
Thatcher then used a pill to change his occasion affiliation to the Utah Ahead Celebration on-line, exclaiming “boop” when he submitted the change.
“Guess what, I don’t need to be a part of the crazy-making anymore.”
Thatcher’s announcement comes as he mentioned he’s been more and more pissed off with not simply the state of nationwide politics, but in addition the final path the Utah Republican Celebration has been heading. Lately, he’s additionally change into no stranger to bucking his occasion’s line, particularly on LGBTQ+ points.
“I imagine that at current, the Ahead Utah Celebration represents a extra conservative place than the Utah Republican Celebration,” Thatcher informed Utah Information Dispatch. “As a result of after they say ‘liberty,’ they imply liberty based on the dictates of your individual conscience, not liberty as dictated by the Legislature.”
It’s been a couple of decade because the Utah Legislature final noticed a third-party candidate. In 2016, Sen. Mark Madsen left the Utah Republican Celebration to affix the Libertarian Celebration. Thatcher, nonetheless, turns into the state’s first lawmaker to affix the Ahead Celebration.
The day earlier than, on Thursday, Thatcher was one of many few Republicans to vote towards two hotly debated payments, one to restrict LGBTQ+ flags in schools and city and county buildings, and one aimed toward serving to the Trump administration accomplish its deportation targets by repealing a 2019 law that shielded migrants from being deported in the event that they commit a misdemeanor offense.
Thatcher argued towards the flag ban whereas carrying a yellow Gadsden flag pin with the “Don’t Tread On Me” emblem.
“I really feel like we have now been doing an terrible lot of treading this 12 months,” Thatcher mentioned throughout Thursday’s debate. “And I believe liberty is liberty, even when individuals need to liberty totally different than us.”
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Throughout a contentious debate over the immigration invoice, Thatcher mentioned it “could be the worst invoice I’ve seen this 12 months,” arguing it could disproportionately goal authorized immigrants, since individuals with out lawful standing are already being deported. ICE doesn’t want a migrant within the nation illegally to serve a one-year sentence to deport them — they’ll deport them for the dearth of documentation alone.
Thatcher has repeatedly clashed with fellow Republicans together with Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who sponsored HB77, the invoice banning satisfaction flags from school rooms and metropolis and county buildings.
“We’re all dying with shock,” McCay mentioned sarcastically whereas standing exterior the Senate chamber on Friday after catching phrase of Thatcher’s occasion change.
Thatcher’s divorce from the Republican Celebration additionally comes amid rising tensions between him and Utah GOP management as he’s more and more bucked the occasion line.
Thatcher lost his longtime committee assignments ahead of the 2025 session. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, reassigned him from management of the Authorities Operations Interim Committee, and as an alternative assigned Sen. Ron Winterton, R-Roosevelt — who led that committee rather than Thatcher as he recovered from a stroke that he suffered in 2022 — to chair that committee.
Thatcher was additionally reassigned from the Senate Judiciary, Regulation Enforcement and Felony Justice Committee — which he sat on for 14 years — to as an alternative serve on the Well being and Human Companies Committee.
Senate leaders additionally lately moved Thatcher’s seat close to the fitting facet of the chamber, beforehand with different Republicans, to the far left facet, subsequent to the Democrats.
As lately as Friday morning, Thatcher publicly clashed with each Adams and McCay on the Senate flooring throughout a debate on HB233, a invoice to ban Planned Parenthood educators from public faculties.
“I don’t assist Deliberate Parenthood. I don’t like Deliberate Parenthood. I hate elective abortions,” Thatcher mentioned, earlier than McCay shouted one thing from the opposite facet of the chamber, interrupting Thatcher’s flooring remarks.
Thatcher checked out McCay and known as him out by identify, saying “that was grossly inappropriate.”
Adams then interjected, saying “we’re not going to do this on the ground, we’re not going to name anyone out.”
“I agree, Mr. President,” Thatcher mentioned, “we shouldn’t do this on the ground.”
Adams then lower Thatcher’s mic, telling him if he’s “going to name anyone out on the ground like that I’m not going to acknowledge you.” Adams, nonetheless, didn’t tackle McCay for interrupting Thatcher’s feedback.
In a while within the debate, when Thatcher forged his vote towards the invoice, Adams wouldn’t permit Thatcher to clarify his vote. Thatcher repeatedly tried to push again on the Senate president.
“We won’t permit one other senator to be known as out on the ground,” an audibly pissed off Adams mentioned. “We’ve talked about decorum. You used one other senator’s identify and also you went after him. I don’t have to acknowledge you, and I’m not going to acknowledge you. So you’ll be able to both vote and you’ll sit down, however I’m not going to acknowledge you.”
Thatcher will not caucus with Senate Republicans. Requested who he’ll caucus with, Thatcher mentioned, “that may be a query for one more day.”
He was additionally adamant that he’ll proceed to serve out his time period, which doesn’t finish till Jan. 1, 2027.
Adams, when requested about Thatcher’s transfer throughout a media availability Friday afternoon, informed reporters, “that’s clearly his resolution.”
“Want him properly, I hope he does properly,” Adams mentioned, including that it’s “wholesome” to have individuals within the Legislature with “totally different concepts.”
To Thatcher’s complaints in regards to the Utah Republican Celebration, Adams mentioned he believes the GOP has been doing a “good job” main Utah, pointing to Utah’s economic rankings.
“I believe we’re doing fairly good,” he mentioned.
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