Special Session with Bryan Schott
Special Session with Bryan Schott rips the curtain back on Utah politics. No spin. No access journalism. No bootlicking. Just 25+ years of experience breaking down the stories that make elected officials squirm. From backroom deals at the Capitol to the power plays you're not supposed to know about, Bryan delivers fearless political coverage and interviews with newsmakers who actually matter. This is Utah politics without the PR polish. Independent. Unfiltered. Uncomfortable for all the right people.
Two weeks out: Outside money is flooding Utah's primaries, and that's not even the most alarming thing
With just two weeks to go until Utah's June 23 primary elections, Bryan Schott breaks down the $2.8 million in outside spending flooding Utah's congressional races, flags which incumbents are actually in danger, and explains the alarming background of Utah County's newly appointed deputy elections director.
Ben McAdams makes his case
Utah 1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Ben McAdams joins Utah Political Watch for a wide-ranging interview ahead of the June 23 primary election.
McAdams, a former state senator, Salt Lake County Mayor, and one-term congressman, makes his case for why his track record on delivering results sets him apart from his three primary opponents.
We discuss his take on finishing second at the state Democratic convention, the tension between his centrist brand and a more progressive primary base, his financial disclosure showing ownership stakes in AI data center companies, his opposition to the Stratos data center...
Stuart Adams is Panicking
Ballots hit Utah mailboxes this week, and Senate President Stuart Adams immediately sent a letter demanding Kevin O'Leary shrink the controversial Stratos data center project by 75%, the same project Adams approved as MIDA chairman. We break down why that's a panic move, not a policy move, and what it says about his primary election chances.
Nate Blouin dropped his internal poll in the CD1 Democratic primary. We dig into the top-line numbers and the internals, and explain why the race is still wide open despite McAdams leading at 37%.
A shadowy new super PAC running AI...
CD1 Candidate Michael Farrell: Ban Data Centers, Tax the Rich, and Don't Run on Vibes
Michael Farrell, a Salt Lake City tax attorney and progressive Democrat running in Utah's newly redrawn 1st Congressional District, joins the show to make his case for why he's the right candidate in a crowded Democratic primary.
Farrell discusses his personal motivation for running — his mother's terminal illness and $150,000 hospital bill in 2009 — and why he's focused on detailed policy proposals rather than progressive branding.Â
He breaks down his approach to taxing the wealthy (closing loopholes, new rates on multimillionaires and billionaires), his support for a complete ban on data centers in water-stressed areas like Utah, and h...
Nate Blouin is not playing it safe
Utah State Senator Nate Blouin sits down with Utah Political Watch to make his case for the Democratic nomination in Utah's 1st Congressional District. In a wide-ranging conversation, Blouin explains his "top vs. bottom" theory of the race, his pledge to drop out if a campaign-commissioned poll shows him trailing fellow progressives Liban Mohammed or Michael Farrell, and why he thinks he's the only candidate built to beat Ben McAdams.Â
We also dig into the Stratos data center fight in Box Elder County, his legislative record in a Republican supermajority, the challenges of winning a general election a...
McAdams survives Utah's CD1 Democratic debate — but the race isn't over
Bryan breaks down Wednesday night's first and only televised debate in Utah's new First Congressional District Democratic primary. Four candidates, one stage, and one frontrunner who just needed to walk out standing. He did.
CD1 debate preview, the data center backlash and why Utah's televised debates are broken
The four Democrats running for Utah's 1st Congressional District take the stage Wednesday night for the only televised debate of the primary, and Bryan has thoughts, mostly skeptical ones, about the format.
He breaks down the dynamics and strategy: why Nate Blouin, Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell all need to attack Ben McAdams while simultaneously fighting each other for the progressive lane. Bryan also explains why Blouin's plan to commission a poll and drop out if he's not the top progressive is, in his view, a political stunt—especially since the ballots are already printed.
Pl...
Liban Mohamed is not here for the status quo
Bryan Schott sits down with Liban Mohamed, a 27-year-old running in the Democratic primary for Utah's new 1st Congressional District. Mohamed made waves at the Utah Democratic state convention, winning 51% of the vote to secure the top spot on the primary ballot—defeating former Congressman Ben McAdams.
They discuss Mohamed's working-class policy agenda, his call for a prohibition on hyperscale data centers in water-stressed areas like Utah, the Islamophobic backlash his campaign has faced, running as a Gen Z candidate, and why he believes the anger he's hearing from voters across the district signals a change election is...
We know a trial balloon when we see one!
In this episode:
John Curtis for governor? Host Bryan Schott digs into the Politico report that U.S. Sen. John Curtis is exploring a run for governor in 2028. Curtis has name ID, money, and nothing to lose (he doesn't have to give up his Senate seat to run). Bryan sizes up the emerging field, including Jason Chaffetz, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, and Speaker Mike Schultz—and explains why Curtis's entry reshapes the whole race.
The Box Elder data center fallout. Kevin O'Leary is losing it. Bryan updates listeners on the MIDA-backed data center project in Bo...
The five largest donations in the history of Stuart Adams' PAC
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams is under fire for some questionable donations to his political action committee, and he's not answering a single question about it.
This week Utah Political Watch reported five individuals and companies with deep financial ties to MIDA (the Military Installation Development Authority)—the powerful unelected state agency that Adams has chaired since 2008—collectively wrote $135,000 in checks to his leadership PAC on a single day, just one week after MIDA voted to approve the massive "Wonder Valley" / Project Stratos data center in Box Elder County.
Those checks were the five largest dona...
Trevor Lee and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
Rep. Trevor Lee had a very, very bad week. He lost the Davis County GOP convention vote to Bob Stevenson. That came a few days after a website dropped with serious fraud allegations from two former employers. One features a signed confession of check fraud. The other involves explosive claims that Lee tried to use his legislative office to help steer a federal contract at Hill Air Force Base in exchange for retiring a $93,000 personal debt he owed to his employer.
The CD1 Democratic primary is getting more complicated by the day. What started as a two-person...
Doxxing voters for the low price of $1,050
In this episode:Â
a last-minute U.S.-Iran ceasefirethe beginning of convention seasonUtah's looming voter privacy rollbackSen. Mike Lee's rumored AG buzzand the subscriber-exclusive debut of the Utah Political Watch Race Ratings system.đź“° Support journalist-owned, journalist-operated independent media at UtahPolitics.news.
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The most uninspiring dorks on the planet
Another busy week in Utah politics:Â
Breaking down a new poll in CD1Candidates are facing signature-gathering deadlinesProp. 4 failed to qualify for the ballot—what happens next?The map that could end Celeste Maloy's careerSCOTUS rules against Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, but experts say it shouldn't impact Utah's ban.📰 Support journalist-owned, journalist-operated independent media at UtahPolitics.news.
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Livestream replay: Avoiding an aggressive ass paddling at the polls
In this replay of a livestream recorded on March 24, 2026, we cover a lot of political news: Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall's creative legal gambit to potentially block a proposed ICE detention facility using water conservation rules; the razor-thin status of the Prop 4 repeal signature campaign with one Senate district teetering on the edge; the congressional races in Utah's new House districts; the unintended consequences of the Utah Republican Party's new one-year registration rule; Sen. Mike Lee's SAVE Act and the Lieutenant Governor's pushback; and more listener Q&A.
Topics & Timestamps
[00:00] — Introduction
[00:05:58] — SLC’s Water...
Navigating the Final Week of the 2026 Utah Legislature
This episode is from the March 2, 2026 livestream:
The Utah legislature is in its final week, with significant discussions on the state budget and tax cuts.Proposition 4 has qualified for the ballot, but signature removal efforts are ongoing and contentious.Legislative shenanigans are evident in the handling of various bills, including those related to transgender youth and immigration.Tax cuts are being prioritized despite budget constraints, benefiting primarily high-income earners.The upcoming election season is shaping up to be competitive, with potential shifts in party representation.đź“° Support journalist-owned, journalist-operated independent media at UtahPolitics.news.
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They need to get the math turned around real fast
In this recording of our livestream from Jan. 26, 2026, we break down the numbers on Utah's Prop 4 repeal effort—and they're not looking good for signature gatherers. With just 20 days left and barely 40% of their statewide goal met, even Trump's endorsement might not be enough to save the anti-gerrymandering law repeal campaign.Â
Plus: Why is the Supreme Court expansion bill going to the Business and Labor Committee instead of Judiciary? We explain the legislative chess moves and timing issues around SB 134. Also covered: Senator John Curtis calls for an independent ICE investigation, new bills targeting Pride flags and vot...
The "blanket fort situation room"
On this episode of Special Session:
The most competitive legislative races in the 2026 midterms.Senate President Stuart Adams is in the political fight of his life.Redistricting court battle update.Will Utah's members of Congress push back on Trump's military action in Venezuela?đź“° Support journalist-owned, journalist-operated independent media at UtahPolitics.news.
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Politico's Jonathan Martin on why Spencer Cox should run for president (and why it's not about winning)
Politico's Jonathan Martin joins the show to discuss his provocative argument that Utah Governor Spencer Cox should mount a 2028 presidential campaign focused on tech regulation and AI. But this isn't about winning the White House—it's about forcing a critical issue into the national conversation.
đź“° Support journalist-owned, journalist-operated independent media at UtahPolitics.news.
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Derek Kitchen on his congressional run and fighting for Salt Lake City's voice in Washington
Former Utah State Senator Derek Kitchen joins the podcast to discuss his campaign for Utah's Congressional District 1 and why he believes Salt Lake City deserves stronger representation in Washington.
Playing Calvinball with redistricting
Special Session Recap: Legislature moves congressional filing deadline to buy time for redistricting appeal; changes court rules so election lawsuits go directly to Utah Supreme Court.
Union Busting Bill Repeal: Strategic retreat—lawmakers feared giving voters an incentive to show up at the polls in 2026 when they have two ballot measures they want passed.
The Phil Lyman Provision: New rule allowing weekly signature packet submissions—designed to undercut conspiracy theories about Governor Cox's 2024 primary win.
Taxpayer-Funded Retreat: House Republicans spent $26,584 at Zermatt Resort; $10,000+ on catering alone for 51 lawmakers and staff.
U of U...
Ben McAdams on his congressional comeback
Former Democratic Congressman Ben McAdams joins Special Session to discuss his return to politics with a run for Congress in Utah's newly drawn 1st Congressional District. The former congressman opens up about what motivated him to get back in the arena, how he plans to build a winning coalition in a district that's Democratic-leaning but not majority-Democratic, and his response to critics still upset about his role in the 2022 McMullin-Lee Senate race.
"People want fighters right now." Sen. Nate Blouin on his congressional campaign
State Sen. Nate Blouin (D-Salt Lake City) joins the show to discuss his bid for Congress in Utah's new 1st Congressional District created by Judge Diana Gibson's ruling last month.Â
WHY HE'S RUNNINGÂ
Blouin positions himself as a fighter with a track record of pushing back against the supermajority. He says the new D+14 district aligns with his progressive values and sees an opportunity to be part of a potential Democratic House majority in 2026. "People want fighters right now. People are frustrated with what they're seeing out of DC."
WHAT A DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY CO...
Will the maps stand?
In this episode, Bryan Schott breaks down the latest developments in Utah's congressional redistricting battle, the GOP's million-dollar signature gathering effort, and what's shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary in the new CD1. Plus, an update on the federal lawsuit over press credentials at the Utah State Legislature.
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I feel like Dora the Explorer
Utah's political landscape was transformed overnight when Judge Dianna Gibson implemented a new congressional map that could dramatically change the state's representation in Washington. Host Bryan Schott breaks down the ruling, analyzes the political fallout, and explores what comes next.
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Schrodinger's voter fraud
On this episode, we unpack Ben McAdams' likely run for Congress, the GOP’s referendum retreat on redistricting, and why two new “competitive” districts might actually be R+2 and R+6 by design. Plus: a wild lawsuit to overturn SB54 and oust elected officials from office, a trio of eyebrow-raising Utah County GOP resolutions, and could Sen. Mike Lee be eyeing the top spot at the Heritage Foundation?
Tip Jar: This political hellscape doesn't document itself. Throw some cash in the tip jar and help me keep calling out the BS without having to sell my soul to corpor...
"The Press Room" replay (subscriber-exclusive livestream sample)
In this replay of our subscriber-only livestream from 11/03/2025, we walk through the Lyman-aligned federal lawsuit to overturn Utah election results by attacking SB 54’s signature-gathering path, Mike Lee’s latest outrage cycle over a non-story, fraud and domestic-incident allegations surrounding former Iron County GOP chair Blake Cozzens, the latest from Utah's redistricting lawsuit and the 2026 chessboard with Democrat Ben McAdams edging toward another run for Congress.
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A pretzel of financial shenanigans
This week in Utah politics: dark money, taxpayer funded PR campaign and a massive homeless campus.
Mega “service campus” for the homeless near SLC airport: 16 acres, up to 1,300 beds, involuntary commitments, forced treatment. Civil liberties alarms vs. “we have to do something.” Cox does damage control via a friendly outlet, swatting Nazi comparisons.House PR machine on your dime: Speaker Schultz’s glossy videos produced by a paid outside firm (Northbound Strategy ~$6k/month, >$215k since ’23). Posted first to his personal accounts, then amplified by official channels. ROI? Shrug. Also: his video flirting with threats against the judge.Expand or extinct: Democrats' 2030 redistricting crisis
Run for Something's Amanda Litman explains why Democrats must invest in red states now—or face permanent minority status after 2030 redistricting.
She argues that redistricting in 2030 is going to gut the already-narrow path to power for Democrats. California and New York will lose seats in Congress, while red states are gaining representation. Utah's fast-growing population means the state is in line to gain a fifth seat in the U.S. House of Representatives following the 2031 redistricting cycle.
Her organization is launching a five-year plan to build Democratic infrastructure in Republican strongholds like Utah, where the pa...
The Utah GOP finds the redistricting UNO reverse card
Utah Republican Party announced a dual strategy to combat court-ordered redistricting and repeal Prop 4.
Referendum on Option C Map (00:04:33)
GOP launching statewide referendum to overturn legislature's newly passed congressional mapNeeds 134,000 signatures by November 15thMust hit signature targets in 15 of 29 Senate districtsInitiative to Repeal Prop 4 (00:09:05)
Only needs 70,000 signatures to submit directly to legislatureWould repeal 2018 voter-approved independent redistricting commissionGives lawmakers political cover since it comes from "the people"Legislature likely to pass with veto-proof majorityTimeline Crunch (00:30:47)
Court must pick new map by November 10thHearings scheduled October 23-24Additional hearing November 3rd on...Incumbent pile-up
On this episode:
The judge in Utah's gerrymandering case stares down the clock.Incumbent pile-up: All the proposed congressional maps put at least two GOP incumbents in the same district.Registration math shows where Democrats might actually have a shot.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.
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New congressional maps and legislative shenanigans
Breaking down the three proposed replacement congressional maps in Utah that have been submitted to the court.
Plus, the legislative maneuvers Republicans used to fast-track a brand-new law that sets standards for evaluating those maps. Critics allege that those standards actually require the state to pass gerrymandered maps.
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Utah redistricting: Legislature set to pick map proposal "C"
Utah Republicans are pushing for the Utah Legislature to adopt map "Option C" when they meet to vote on new congressional boundaries on Monday. The map is the most pro-Republican of the five proposals put forward by lawmakers.
Note: this is a recording of a livestream broadcast from 10/02/2025.
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Utah's Map-tastrophe
The Utah Supreme Court denied the Utah Legislature's request for an emergency stay to keep the state's 2021 congressional maps, deemed illegal, in place.
If you needed any more proof why lawmakers want to keep control of drawing Utah's political maps, our analysis proves that all three of the maps produced by the independent commission in 2021 would have produced at least one strong Democratic district.
Republicans thought they had found a way to keep the current maps in place, but it turns out they forgot to do the reading.
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The Aftermath of Charlie Kirk's Assassination: A Conversation with Christopher Goldsmith
We sit down with Christopher Goldsmith, an expert on disinformation and extremist tactics and the founder of Veterans Fighting Fascism.Â
Goldsmith, who publishes the "On Offense" Substack and co-hosts the "Find Out" podcast, discusses the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. He talks about the potential implications for democracy, the dangers posed by radicalized extremist movements, and disinformation.Â
Goldsmith also shares advice on how individuals can combat fascism at the local level.Â
00:52 Understanding Extremist MovementsÂ
10:20 The Role of DisinformationÂ
17:01 Local Actions Against Fascism
Cracking the code on Utah's gerrymandered maps
This week, we go over the latest in the court case over Utah's gerrymandered congressional maps and how the GOP-controlled legislature will try to open up a new path of attack so the new map is still likely to elect Republicans or even keep the old map in place for the 2026 election.
It's no secret that Utah's congressional map is gerrymandered, but we finally have an idea what methodology they used to create it. It appears that Republicans targeted Utahns who voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. We'll explain how they did it, and why splitting Biden...
All about gerrymandering
A Utah judge threw out Utah's congressional maps on Monday, ruling that the Republican-controlled legislature violated the state constitution when it repealed Prop. 4. in 2020. Now, lawmakers have less than a month to draw new maps, or the court will do it for them.
We discuss the ruling, what it means, how we got here, and what's next.
Plus, a conversation with Dave Daley, a senior fellow at FairVote and the author of Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count.
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Stuart Adams has a problem
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams is under scrutiny after a change to state law he championed benefited his step‑granddaughter as she faced serious felony charges.
Host Bryan Schott goes through the timeline, explains what changed in the law, and tests Adams’ defense against the public record.
We also examine the media’s role and patterns from past episodes where Adams’ actions raised ethical questions.
In this episode:Â
The feds want Utah's voting records
The chatter surrounding Utah Sen. Mike Lee as a possible pick for the Supreme Court has started again. Don't dismiss it as just idle speculation. Lee probably came closer to landing a seat on the Supreme Court in 2018 than most realize.
The Justice Department wants information about Utah's elections. This could have a very big impact on the 2026 elections and beyond.
A liberal group is spending money in Utah to recruit candidates to challenge Republicans in 10 legislative seats. We'll explain why that money might be better spent on trying to register more Democratic voters.
<...Take away Mike Lee's phone!
It was a bad week on social media for a couple of Utah's congressional Republicans.Â
Rep. Burgess Owens reposted an anti-Muslim video on social media that came from an account that frequently posts White supremacist content.Sen. Mike Lee was fooled AGAIN by a fake letter on social media that was clearly generated by AI. Lee likes to criticize the media for inaccuracies, but he should really work on his media literacy skills before condemning others.Sen. Lee joined with Senate Republicans on Thursday to block a Democratic-led effort to pressure the Trump administration to release documents r...
Who's funding who?
Federal prosecutors drop the charges against a Utah doctor accused of running a fake vaccine card scheme. How much did politics play in the dismissal? (Hint: a lot).
Who is funding your congressional delegation? We break down the latest financial disclosures and come up with some interesting nuggets.
Republicans are flailing trying to contain the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy. Sen. Mike Lee suggests having Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell testify before Congress.
Poll numbers highlight a very sharp divide between two factions of the Utah GOP.
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