Utah's congressional delegation maintains nearly perfect party loyalty in the 119th Congress, even as state-level data shows several Utah legislators frequently deviate from their party lines on critical votes in the Utah Legislature.
Congressional Loyalty High
According to data released August 29, 2026, by BYU Political Science researcher Adam Brown, Utah's federal representatives demonstrate high levels of partisan cohesion. The Utah Congressional Delegation, consisting of two senators and four representatives, maintains an average party loyalty of 98% and an average attendance rate of 99%, according to Congress Vote Tracker.
Federal Delegation Breakdown
The Utah delegation in the 119th Congress includes Senators John R. Curtis and Mike Lee, both of whom hold a 100% loyalty rating. In the House of Representatives, Mike Kennedy holds a 100% loyalty rating, followed by Blake D. Moore at 97%, Celeste Maloy at 97%, and Burgess Owens at 95%, according to Congress Vote Tracker.
State Legislative Divergence
In contrast to the high cohesion seen at the federal level, data from the 2026 Utah Legislature session reveals a more complex voting landscape for state lawmakers. While many legislators maintain high overall support scores, their loyalty fluctuates significantly when measured against 'party-line only' votes—those instances where the majority of Republicans vote against the majority of Democrats.
Measuring True Partisanship
The distinction between overall support and party-line support is critical for understanding legislative behavior. As Adam Brown noted in his research, most votes in the Utah Legislature pass by overwhelming margins, often resulting in bipartisan consensus. Because of this, overall party support scores tend to be inflated. To find a more accurate estimate of true partisan loyalty, Brown suggests looking exclusively at party-line votes, which represent instances where a legislator's party specifically requires their support to win a vote.
Republican Party-Line Deviations
Several Republican legislators show notable gaps between their overall support and their loyalty on party-line issues. For example, Representative Melissa G. Ballard holds a 95.4% overall support score but only 74.3% for party-line votes. Similarly, Representative Paul A. Cutler maintains a 95.9% overall score but drops to 75.8% on party-line votes. Representative James A. Dunnigan shows a 94.4% overall support score with a 71.4% party-line score, while Representative Douglas R. Welton holds a 94.9% overall score but a 73.0% party-line score.
Legislative Voting Patterns
Other Republican lawmakers also exhibit varying degrees of independence on partisan votes. Representative Steve Eliason has an overall support score of 95.3% but a party-line score of 72.7%, and Representative Anthony E. Loubet has an overall score of 95.1% with a party-line score of 69.6%. Representative Christine F. Watkins shows an overall support score of 93.6% but a party-line score of 65.8%, the lowest among the listed Republican representatives.
Significant Outliers in Support Scores
The data also highlights a significant outlier in the state legislature. Representative Leah Hansen, a Republican, holds a 46.9% overall support score and a 50.0% party-line support score, indicating a high degree of independence from the Republican party platform during the 2026 session.
