Do Utahns trust their institutions?
By Renae Cowley, Frank Pignanelli
Republican Renae Cowley is a political consultant, lobbyist, social media influencer and professional rodeo athlete. Frank Pignanelli is a Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser who served as a Democrat in the Utah State Legislature.
New polls and national special interest groups are raising issues about Utah politics. Whether you love the surveys or hate them, we love to talk about them.
A recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll asked voters about their respect for institutions. An average of 20% of respondents had zero confidence in the Utah Legislature, the governor, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Utah Supreme Court. Many Democrats showed no affection for the Legislature (47%) or Congress (57%). Republicans expressed higher levels of confidence in these institutions, but not all by resounding margins. Is this lack of trust, especially by Democrats, worrisome?
Cowley: Watergate, the Kennedy assassination, Epstein Files and COVID vaccine lies have all contributed to an overall erosion of trust in government. History has shown that the government has repeatedly lied to its citizens, and after enough betrayals, it is hard for many to believe in the ideal of a government “for the people.”
Utah Republicans were the most trusting of state institutions, and for good reason. Utah continually wins awards for having the best-managed state. Our economy is strong, and our communities are safe. The Republican-led Legislature consistently advances policies that their Republican constituents voted for; thus, satisfaction is higher.
Both Democrats and Republicans expressed the least amount of trust in Congress — a time-honored tradition for Utahns, considering the rocky relationship between our state’s founders and the feds.
It’s always the losing team that has the most criticism for the refs. Being a super minority in Utah, Democrats don’t get many wins, but perhaps they should redefine victory. Stop wasting effort trying to restore Roe v. Wade and focus on policies that benefit blue-collar workers.
Pignanelli: ”American democracy is not on the verge of disappearing. Americans are much deeper than the sum of their political beliefs ” — Deseret News Editorial Board
For more than 400 years, immigrants to this country left their homeland frustrated with religious, economic or government institutions. Native Americans, Black Americans and descendants of our state’s pioneer founders have legitimate historic issues with similar entities on this continent. Thus, Americans and Utahns are bred with some distrust for authority.
This emotion is especially exemplified by the Democrats’ confusing lower approval rating of the Utah Supreme Court, which recently delivered several setbacks to the Legislature (whom the minority party apparently does not trust).
But dismissive comments about the government do not accurately reflect deeply held beliefs. Participation in elections is relatively high. Every year, I witness thousands of people at the State Capitol protesting, speaking in committees, and interacting with lawmakers. Citizens inundate congressional offices with emails and attend town hall meetings. If there was no confidence, they would not engage with such vigor.
Many pundits opine that this lack of confidence is a threat to democracy. However, as the editorial board of this paper wisely stated, such allegations are unfounded. We are born and bred to challenge — and simultaneously engage with — our institutions.
The same poll indicated that 25% of GOP voters had no confidence in universities nationwide. Yet Utah Republicans and Democrats reported great respect for the Utah higher education system, with almost 60%. What does this say about Utah’s colleges and universities?
Cowley: Utah’s colleges and universities outpace their out-of-state cohorts on ROI and culture. If survey respondents’ collegiate experiences were anything like mine, they remember it as transformative. Attending Utah State University was one of the best decisions I ever made. There is still significant work to be done to modernize degree offerings, eliminate woke bias and make college affordable again, but Utah is on the right track.
Pignanelli: Throughout the country, large public and elite universities are plagued with controversies, which explains the discomfort. In Utah, the face of the higher education system is Taylor Randall, president of the University of Utah. His persona is especially exemplified as several other institutions have been without observable leadership.
Randall effectively addressed DEI issues raised at the Legislature and utilized the required re-allocation of funds to promote effective instruction. A native Utahn, he understands how to communicate and work with government, political, business and religious organizations. His success is benefiting the entire state system. Randall’s colleagues across the country would be astute to seek his guidance.
A national political action committee, “Save America,” will partner with the local lefty Elevate Utah PAC to spend at least $20,000 against Republican incumbent lawmakers. Will this make a difference in 2026?
Cowley: Out-of-state and out-of-touch Democrats likely saw the Utah Education Association’s highly successful signature-gathering efforts as a misguided sign that Utah is turning blue. It’s not.
$20,000 spread across 10 races intended to unseat incumbents is about as impactful as spilling a thimbleful of water in Moab. My compliments to their PR team for garnering coverage for this announcement, especially since many of those incumbents have wisely been using this as an opportunity to fundraise. Their grand scheme has backfired.
Pignanelli: Elevate Utah shrewdly captured valuable publicity, which promoted their causes. Many companies, organizations and special interest groups (on the left and right) spend much more on state races. The PAC may not spend anything significant, but it achieved impressive PR results through artful messaging. Such is politics.