On July 25, Utah State Senator Mark Madsen said he has changed his voter registration from “Republican” to “Libertarian.” He lives in Saratoga Springs and was first elected to the State Senate in 2004. He is not running for re-election this year. See his wikipedia page, which has already been updated to show his new party membership. The Libertarian Party now has three state legislators. The other two are in Nevada and Nebraska. This is the first time any party other than the Democratic and Republican Parties has had legislators in three states simultaneously since 1934, when there were Socialists in the legislatures of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Thanks to Michael for the link.
Richard, when was the last time Utah had a state legislator that wasn’t GOP or a Dem.?
Just after the 1956 election there was an independent in the Utah legislature. In 1914 there were 3 Progressives, one Socialist, and ten who were the nominees of both the Dem Party and the Progressive Party.
I know this because of the wonderful reference book “Party affiliations in the state legislatures” by Michael J. Dubin. It is one of my most valuable books, from a use standpoint, not so much dollar amount standpoint.
Ah ok, Thanks for the info.
Has he also joined the Libertarian Party as a dues paying member?
That is great news and we are watching history in the making. Thank you, Richard, for bringing this development into historical context.
How soon before the Donkey/Elephant gerrymander OLIGARCHS smash/purge all third parties and independents — with the approval of the Donkey/Elephant HACKS on SCOTUS —
in order to have a HA HA *stable* regime ???
See the chaos in both the 2016 Elephant and Donkey national conventions.