April 21, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - Delegates meeting in Utah’s Republican and Democratic state party conventions this weekend tend to have stronger partisan views than the state’s voters at large. A new Utah Priorities Project survey shows Utah’s Republican delegates overlap Republican voters by 76% on an ideological scale devised by the Pew Research Centers. Democratic delegates overlap Democratic voters by about 77% on the same scale. On “hot-button” issues such as the control of public lands in the state, Democrats … Continued
April 22, 2016(Deseret News) - There’s a bigger disconnect between Republican voters and state delegates on the top issues facing Utah than among Democrats, according to a new Utah Foundation survey released Thursday. The survey of state party delegates for the 2016 Utah Priorities Project found that Republican voters see health care as the most important issue, but Republican delegates place states’ rights at the top of the list. The same delegates said public lands, also an issue seen as … Continued
April 21, 2016(KTVX) - State delegates are preparing to gather at their party’s convention to weigh in on the political process. A new report is shedding light on their views. “The party delegates are more ideologically polarized than party voters are,” said Shawn Teigen with Utah Foundation. His organization surveyed 973 delegates about their top priorities. Those answers were compared to a survey of voters to see how the two differ. While delegates are more partisan their priorities tend … Continued
April 21, 2016(KSL-TV) - There’s a bigger disconnect between Republican voters and state delegates on the top issues facing Utah than among Democrats, according to a new Utah Foundation survey released Thursday. The survey of state party delegates for the 2016 Utah Priorities Project found that Republican voters see health care as the most important issue, but Republican delegates place states’ rights at the top of the list. The same delegates said public lands, also an issue seen as … Continued
April 21, 2016(KUER) - In the days leading up to state political conventions, a new report shows how closely delegates align with the voters they represent. State delegates will meet this weekend to choose candidates to represent their political party in state and federal elections. A new report from the Utah Foundation shows that the ideologies and demographics of delegates don’t always match up to those of voters. “Republican delegates are more consistently conservative than republican voters,” says Shawn … Continued
April 21, 2016(Salt Lake Tribune) - The non-partisan Utah Foundation research organization released results Thursday of a poll that compared delegates to voters in their parties. It asked a series of questions to allow respondents to choose between positions that are traditionally liberal or conservative. “While 27 percent of Republican voters were ‘consistently conservative,’ 46 percent of Republican delegates fell in the same category,” it said. In other words, GOP delegates are much further to the right than typical Republican voters. … Continued
April 17, 2016(Deseret News) - Yet the five-ring circus metaphor resonates nationally because of the battle being played out within the national Republican Party this political season. In Utah, the Reaganesque fusion of libertarians and social conservatives still hangs together. But Herbert plays well in the “establishment” mold, and played well at the April 2 luncheon at which the Utah Foundation released its top priorities. The foundation’s top 10 list was heavy on education, environment, the economy and infrastructure projects … Continued
April 15, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - In Monday’s GOP gubernatorial debate, Johnson challenged Herbert to take the no-new-tax pledge, adding that Herbert and the Legislature have raised taxes some times in recent years – including the gasoline tax and the property tax for schools. Herbert declined to take the pledge, saying a fiscally responsible governor and Legislature sometimes has to “rebalance” the tax load when things get out of whack. Herbert said none other than Sen. Howard Stephenson, president of the Utah Taxpayers … Continued
April 07, 2016(Utah Political Capitol) - To help Utah voters better understand how gubernatorial candidates line up on the issues, the Utah Foundation has published a report on the matter during each gubernatorial election year since 2004. With the 2016 race beginning to heat up, the non-partisan, Salt Lake City-based think tank recently released its findings for this election cycle’s candidates, Part II of the Utah Priorities Project . Out of the 11 candidates vying for the position, 7 chose to answer … Continued
April 07, 2016(KUER) - The non-partisan Utah Foundation has published a report that takes a closer look at the priorities of seven candidates running for Governor. The group surveyed Republican Governor Gary Herbert and his GOP challengers Nate Jensen and Jonathan Johnson, along with Democratic candidates Vaughn Cook and Mike Weinholtz. Unaffiliated candidates L.S. Brown and Gary Van Horn were also included. Candidates rated their level of concern for issues based on a scale of 1 to 5, one … Continued
April 06, 2016(Fox 13 News) - Shawn Teigen, research director for the Utah Foundation, came to the FOX 13 News Studio Wednesday to discuss the priorities Utah voters have and how those priorities compare with those of the candidates running for Governor. See the video above for Teigen’s comments on the issues that are important to Utah voters and whether or not those same issues are important to candidates for governor. The comparison is part of the group’s “Utah Priorities Project”, click … Continued
April 06, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - In an effort to help Utah voters better understand the differences and similarities of the gubernatorial candidates, Utah Foundation has published Part II of the Utah Priorities Project. In this report, voters can see what topics candidates are most concerned about, how they align with voters across the state, and how they align with their own personal views. This will ultimately help voters evaluate who is the best candidate to represent their interests in state … Continued
April 06, 2016(Salt Lake Tribune) - Not surprisingly, Gov. Gary Herbert says Utah is on the right track — while most of his opponents say the opposite. Herbert rates quality of life as “much better” than it was five years ago, while most of his opponents see it as worse. And Herbert generally zigs when the others zag when questioned about how important 21 separate issues are, according to a study released Wednesday by the Utah Foundation, a non-profit research organization. … Continued
April 04, 2016(The Spectrum) - In Utah, programs like the “Alternatives” program — which provides services like grocery shopping, household chores and snow removal — cost less than one-third of what it would cost to provide similar services in a full-time care center, according to an analysis by the Salt Lake City-based think-tank The Utah Foundation. But that program currently covers only 0.25 percent of all Utah seniors, and the analysis indicated that every county in the state has a waiting list … Continued
April 03, 2016(Daily Herald) - A 2007 Utah Foundation report ranks special education teachers as the most likely of all subgroups of teachers to leave the profession. The report notes that special education teachers reported dissatisfaction with job responsibilities and changes in job responsibilities as main reasons for their departure. With the rate of children being diagnosed with autism on the rise, it’s becoming crucial for those even outside of the special education field to have a background in the … Continued
April 03, 2016(KTVX) - Utahns have already weighed in on who they prefer to win party nominations and an astounding number of Utah Republicans prefer Ted Cruz while most Utah Democrats align their views with Bernie Sanders. New research from the Utah Foundation shows which issues are most important to Utahns and how those priorities have changed since the last presidential election. Shawn Teigen is one of the research directors at the Utah Foundation and he sat down with Glen … Continued
March 31, 2016(Powder.com) - AT THE END OF A POWDER DAY, the long red snake of brake lights is an inevitable component of driving down the canyon. It likely would have frightened the early pioneers who knew not only that Alta’s snow was special, but that growth and pressure on the resource would degrade the quality of the experience. With more than 1.7 million people in the Wasatch Front and Utah’s population growth trending at nearly double the national … Continued
March 31, 2016(Deseret News) - The reason that “jobs and the economy” have fallen from the first priority to the fifth priority among Utah voters is explained at least in part by some rather obscure Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. The Utah Foundation recently released the results of a statewide survey of “The Top Issues and Concerns of Utah Voters for the Election.” Each gubernatorial election year since 2004, the Utah Foundation has focused on gaining a better understanding of … Continued
March 25, 2016(Spectrum) - Health care, air quality and education have all surpassed jobs and the economy as residents’ foremost concerns, a major change reflective of the state’s nearly unbroken half-decade streak of job growth and steady economic improvement, according to a new report. Released this week by the Utah Foundation, a nonpartisan think-tank based in Salt Lake City, the 2016 Utah Priorities Project Survey shows a top-10 list of priorities that has evolved significantly since the last survey … Continued
March 25, 2016(Utah Public Radio) - A Thursday luncheon hosted by the Utah Foundation featured all four major gubernatorial candidates responding to the findings of the 2016 Utah Priorities Project. The survey conducted found that the biggest issue on the minds of Utah voters this year is healthcare. Shawn Teigen, Research Director with the Utah Foundation, said that while healthcare has been a big concern over the last few election cycles, its importance to voters has grown. “Priority number one—which was … Continued
March 25, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - The Utah Foundation’s gubernatorial quasi-debate on Thursday didn’t spark any major fireworks, but it did provide a good first glimpse of the four primary candidates for governor, their debate styles, and what we might expect as voters begin to focus on the race. Utah Foundation, a Salt Lake-based independent research organization, sponsored the event to give gubernatorial candidates an opportunity to outline their positions on the issues of most concern to Utahns. Each election cycle, … Continued
March 24, 2016(Utah Public Radio) - The Utah Foundation and Utah Public Radio’s Kerry Bringhurst ask the Gubernatorial candidates to respond to questions about key Utah issues. The Utah Foundation has released the results of the 2016 Utah Priorities poll, asking voters across the state to identify their most important concerns. Four candidates for governor respond to the issues identified by voters at the Utah Priorities Project Luncheon at the City Center Marriot Hotel. The candidates are Governor Gary Herbert, Jonathan … Continued
March 24, 2016(UtahPolicy.com) - Healthcare has moved into the top spot on the Utah Priorities Project survey of voters across the state of Utah for the 2016 election cycle. Jobs and the economy, which had been the highest priority issue in 2010 and 2012 dropped to fifth place, and air quality moved into the second position on the Priorities Project’s top ten list of voter concerns. The top ten list is based on polling done for Utah Foundation by … Continued
March 24, 2016(KUTV) - Gov. Gary Herbert’s Republican challenger says he will force the governor into a primary. A confident Jonathon Johnson made that claim in an interview Thursday. Four men want to be the next governor and they appeared together at a luncheon at the Marriott City Center. Johnson says delegates who support him were elected at caucuses this week. And he said if the governor had not collected thousands of signatures in a new way to get … Continued
March 25, 2016(Fox 13 News) - For the first time this election season, Utah’s four gubernatorial candidates from major parties sat at the same table and discussed what one political group said are Utah’s top issues. The lunch with the future governor event was part of the unveiling of the Utah Foundation’s 2016 Utah Priorities list. It’s a project the Utah Foundation has done for the past several elections, surveying voters to understand what issues they think are the most important. … Continued
