I want to say first how thankful I am for you, and for your support. I chose to be a candidate because no-one else was standing up to run against Jordan Teuscher. I treated this campaign as an act of rebellion for the lack of representation, for not having a voice. I sought the endorsements of people that Jordan targeted in his bills – workers and unions, public education, and LGBT communities that were all willing to stand with me. I attended the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago to engage further with democratic groups and network with individuals, and it really felt like there was traction afterwards, and leading into the end of this campaign. During DNC, the Republican legislature called an emergency session to address a string of decisions from the Utah Supreme Court, and the result was Amendment D, which Jordan Teuscher was the house sponsor for. I couldn’t have expected anything like this, and it was serious enough of an issue that Jordan should have lost his seat over it.
But that’s not what happened. In the last months, the Utah GOP has been pouring thousands of dollars in Jordan’s campaign. New signs went up, they tried to send a mobile poll testing the political climate (it wasn’t coded correctly and failed miserably), and several mailers were sent out to the district. Jordan purchased social media ads to counter mine. It was like the party pulled out all the stops to defend him.
I’m disappointed that I didn’t even break 40% in this race. For everything that we did, and for everything that Jordan did this year, I truly thought that constituents would consider a challenger. It doesn’t look like that mattered in the race though. Historically, none of the Democratic candidates have done well in our South Jordan/West Jordan district. I can claim the highest percentage of votes from a challenger since Jordan took office, but it’s not worthy recognition. Jordan first ran in the old house district 42, and then took a mid-term election cycle win in 2022 after the district boundaries were redrawn to become the current house district 44. Our district is considered a “safe” red district because of the boundary lines.
With everything that took place this year in the Utah legislature, and with everything that Jordan has done to disenfranchise voters, dismantle worker rights and defund public education, I really hoped for the chance to make change.
After these elections, I’m still numb from everything that happened. I’m sure that you are still processing everything too. I’m here, but I need to figure out what the next steps forward will be. At this point I really feel like this is a fight for democracy. Please, stay vigilant and stay engaged. If you have time, please read https://utah44.com/stay-diligent-stay-active-vote-vote-vote/ because the article covers a lot of what I think will take place in the 2025 general session next year.
Be well (represented),
Greg Green