Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) is stepping down from his House seat mid-term, with the announcement coming perhaps as early as today. His departure is due to health issues of his wife.
We wish Mrs. Stewart well and kudos to Rep. Stewart for putting his family first. His resignation is the first one mid-term from the Utah delegation since the resignation of former Rep. Jason Chaffetz . He gave up his seat in Congress six years ago. In 2017, Chaffetz left Congress and became a pundit on Fox News Channel. Stewart is currently serving his sixth term in the House. In 2022, he won re-election over the Democrat by more than 30 points. His is a solid Republican seat, which makes his resignation a little less scary given the very small majority that Republicans have in Congress. As it is right now, Speaker McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes when voting on legislation opposed by every Democrat. Stewart’s impending departure reduces that number to three. He holds seats on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.
When Stewart resigns, a special election will be needed.
Picking a replacement for the remainder of Stewart’s term will require a special election. Once Stewart officially announces he’s resigning, Gov. Spencer Cox has seven days to set the primary and special election schedule. Under state law, those dates will be the same as this year’s municipal primary and general elections, unless the Legislature appropriates money to hold an election on a different date.
It is widely believed that Stewart was preparing to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney. This announcement will likely change that calculation.
The kind words about Stewart are already coming in. Jason Chaffetz said, “There is not a finer person than Chris Stewart. He serves with integrity and patriotism.”
Erin Rider, the Salt Lake City-based attorney who last year forced Stewart into his first primary election, also applauded her former opponent.
“Representative Stewart has spent the last decade faithfully serving the second district,” Rider wrote in a statement to The Tribune. “I’d like to thank him for his service to this country and to the State of Utah and wish him and his family all the best.”
Former Utah Republican Party Chair Carson Jorgensen, who stepped down earlier this year and challenged Stewart for the GOP nomination in 2020, said, ”Just want to wish (C)hris and his family the best! He has served this state and (D)istrict 2 well and will be sorely missed in Congress.”
The other members of the Utah congressional delegation did not provide a comment when asked. Those members include Senators Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, and Reps. John Curtis, Blake Moore, and Burgess Owens.
Naturally, the Utah Democrat Party brought the ugly. The Party’s Executive Director did wish him and his wife well after trashing the congressman. Utah Democrats hope to take the seat. They have not held a seat in Congress since 2020.
“During his time in Congress, Rep. Stewart has consistently stood with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party, voting repeatedly against the interests of Utahns,” Utah Democratic Party Executive Director Thom DeSirant said in a statement. “We look forward to replacing him with a common sense public servant who will protect our freedoms and defend our democracy.”
DeSirant added that despite the party’s political differences with Stewart, it “wish(es) him and his wife the best going forward.”
We’ll see if Rep. Stewart makes it official today.
