Special Session with Bryan Schott

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.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 corporate overlords.Subscribe: Get our free newsletter at UtahPolitics.news and find out what fresh hell the legislature cooked up while you were sleeping. Or become a paid subscriber – because somebody needs to fund this one-man war against political gaslighting.Sponsor the show: Got deep pockets and a masochistic love of Utah politics? Sponsor this podcast and support our coverage of this slow motion train wreck. Hit us up podcast@utahpolitics.news.Stalk us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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 corporate overlords.Subscribe: Get our free newsletter at UtahPoliticalWatch.news and find out what fresh hell the legislature cooked up while you were sleeping. Or become a paid subscriber – because somebody needs to fund this one-man war against political gaslighting.Sponsor the show: Got deep pockets and a masochistic love of Utah politics? Sponsor this podcast and support our coverage of this slow motion train wreck. Hit us up at podcast@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Stalk us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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.Subscribe for just $5 a month to listen and participate in our subscriber-exclusive livestream at Utah Political Watch.

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.Dark money creeps local: National Liberty Champions PAC drops into an Alpine school board race. The Mike Lee orbit—Thomas Datwyler (treasurer), Dan Hauser (L4 Consulting, lives in-district)—connects the dots. Same network fueled attacks in UT-2 primary via Constitutional Conservatives PAC.Ogden City Council shenanigans: Candidate takes ~$15k from “Taxpayers PAC,” blowing past $1,500 limits. Money trace: AZ Christian nationalist pastor/funder → PAC → candidate → consultant. The consultant? He set up the PAC routing the cash back to himself. Illegal overage likely returned.Conspiracy-to-policy pipeline: Gold-as-currency schemes pushed by fringe “experts,” and yes—another chemtrails bill incoming.Heads up: Election Day is Tuesday. If your ballot’s still on the counter, fix that.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 corporate overlords.Subscribe: Get our free newsletter at UtahPoliticalWatch.news and find out what fresh hell the legislature cooked up while you were sleeping. Or become a paid subscriber – because somebody needs to fund this one-man war against political gaslighting.Sponsor the show: Got deep pockets and a masochistic love of Utah politics? Sponsor this podcast and support our coverage of this slow motion train wreck. Hit us up at podcast@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Stalk us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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 party's net favorability sits at a dismal negative 38 percent.Litman says Democrats need to stop obsessing over swing states and start investing in places the party has written off for years.Run for Something: RunForSomething.netFind Amanda on social media: @AmandaLitman or @AmandalitmTip 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 corporate overlords.Subscribe: Get our free newsletter at UtahPoliticalWatch.news and find out what fresh hell the legislature cooked up while you were sleeping. Or become a paid subscriber – because somebody needs to fund this one-man war against political gaslighting.Sponsor the show: Got deep pockets and a masochistic love of Utah politics? Sponsor this podcast and support our coverage of this slow motion train wreck. Hit us up at podcast@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Stalk us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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 legislature's new redistricting law (SB 101)Multiple opportunities for delays through appealsTip 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 corporate overlords.Subscribe: Get our free newsletter at UtahPoliticalWatch.news and find out what fresh hell the legislature cooked up while you were sleeping. Or become a paid subscriber – because somebody needs to fund this one-man war against political gaslighting.Buy your way in: Got deep pockets and a masochistic love of Utah politics? Sponsor this podcast and support our coverage of this slow motion train wreck. Hit us up at news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Stalk us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/TwitterNote: this is a recording of a livestream broadcast from 10/06/2025.

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.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

We sit down with Christopher Goldsmith, an expert on disinformation and extremist tactics and the founder of Veterans Fighting Fascism. 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. Goldsmith also shares advice on how individuals can combat fascism at the local level. 00:52 Understanding Extremist Movements 10:20 The Role of Disinformation 17:01 Local Actions Against Fascism

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 voters was the key.Plus, a conversation with Chris Diaz from the Voting Rights Lab about President Donald Trump's attack on mail-in voting and the current panic about the (nonexistent) threat of non-citizens on voter rolls.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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: What the law change did—and who it helpedA timeline of how the change moved through the processAdams’ explanations versus the available factsHow local media covered the storyWhy these patterns matter for public trust in the legislature—and whether voters will careTip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for our newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email news@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter

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.Tip Jar: Support independent journalism by making a one-time donation here.Subscribe: Sign up for my newsletter for free at UtahPoliticalWatch.news, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support our Utah politics coverage.Sponsor: If you'd like to sponsor this podcast, email schott@utahpoliticalwatch.news.Follow us on social media:BlueskyTikTokInstagramFacebookThreadsX/Twitter