Special Session with Bryan Schott

This week, we're wrapping up the 2025 Utah Republican Party Convention: Rob Axson wins another term as party chair.

Where does Phil Lyman go from here?

It sure sounds like Utah Republicans are hatching a plan to repeal SB54 before the 2026 election.

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If you'd like t...

Utah lawmakers face off against Salt Lake City in a battle over Pride flags.

The state’s most successful signature gathering effort in history puts a union-busting bill on the ballot.

Could Donald Trump influence the future leadership of the Utah Republican party?

Plus, a deep dive into the upcoming GOP convention, where the ...

In this week's episode:

The Utah Legislature faces a tough reality as the referendum to overturn the anti-union bill surpasses its signature goal, signaling a significant pushback against Republican lawmakers. A judge's ruling that the state's private school voucher program is unconstitutional leaves legislative leaders scrambling to respond. With no veto override session on the horizon, Governor Spencer C...

In this week's episode:

• Unions collect 320,000 signatures for the referendum to overturn the union busting bill.
• Utah's economy earns praise from a conservative group, but dark clouds may be on the horizon.
• A Utah congressman visits a notorious prison in El Salvador.
• What is Jason Chaffetz up to?
• Mike Lee's bestie Elon Musk has a LOT of kids.

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In this week's episode:

• The Utah Legislature is poised to override a veto of a bill pushed by conspiracy theorists.
• What did the Utah Board of Education waste time on this week?
• A merger to create the 6th largest political party in Utah.
• The parallels between Sen. Mike Lee and Jar Jar Binks.

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In this week's episode:

👋 Sundance says farewell

🚫🏳️‍🌈 Utah is the first state to ban Pride flags and fluoride in drinking water

🗳️Gov. Spencer Cox nixes vote-by-mail

😳 The effort to overturn Utah's union busting bill gets off to an impressive start

👉 An update on my lawsuit against the Utah Legislature

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In this week's episode:

• Could the Pride flag ban prompt the Sundance Film Festival to flee the state?
• Lawmakers quietly gut Utah's open records law.
• Freebies for lawmakers during the session.
• Utah is on the verge of letting the Cavity Creeps win.

My guest this week is Austin Archer. He's a Utah born actor, writer and online social media content creator. His social media posts lampooning conservatives and Trump voters hav...

In this week's episode of Special Session:

• The 2025 Utah Legislature is over.
• Legislative leaders aren't going to let a minor thing like a bill dying in committee stop them.
• Legislators pick a fight with the state auditor over office space...and lose.
• Phil Lyman wants to run the Utah Republican Party.

My guest this week is Sen. Daniel Thatcher. He announced Friday that he was leaving the Republican Party to join the Utah...

In this week's episode of Special Session:

• Governor Cox and legislative leaders are throwing a party over education funding that might not be all it's cracked up to be.
• Next year's budget is going to be tight, but don't worry...there's always room for tax cuts.
• The legislature hatches a plan to take control of political debates in Utah. We explain why this is a scary idea that should upset you.
• Plus, Phil Lyman wants to run ...

In this week's episode of Special Session:

• Budget blues hit as lawmakers grapple with disappointing revenue news.
• Utah AFL/CIO president Jeff Worthington joins the show to discuss HB267, the union-busting bill that takes away collective bargaining rights for public employees.
• Utah lawmakers want to make it harder and more expensive for the public to access government records - because who doesn't love a little secrecy?
• We're s...

In this week's episode of Special Session:

• Unions busted
• More money and more limits for Utah's school voucher program
• Pride flags? No way. Nazi flags? A-okay!
• Burgess Owens - country music expert.

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave a rating and review to help others discover the show. Sign up for my newsletter at Utah Political Watch for free, and consider becoming a paying subscriber to support my work i...

In this episode of Special Session:

Senate Republicans reverse course on the controversial union busting bill.

Legislature pushes to double funding for Utah's private school voucher program.

A Democratic senator proposes higher taxes for the wealthy.

Two bills aim ...

In this episode of Special Session:

The fallout from the audit of former Attorney General Sean Reyes.

Lawmakers back down in their battle with public sector labor unions.

A trio of conspiracy-driven bills make their way through the legislature.

Gerrymandering lawsu...

In this episode of Special Session:

• The 2025 Utah Legislature gets underway.
• Spencer Cox needs to pay attention to the lyrics.
• It's union bustin' time!
• Who really has the ear of Utah lawmakers.
• Why I'm taking the Legislature to court.

My guest this week is former Republican strategist Reed Galen. We talk about what to expect from the second Trump administration, the need for pro-democracy movements and how to resist auth...

In this episode of Special Session:

• SCOTUS says no to Utah's land grab lawsuit.
• What's behind a proposal to break up Salt Lake County?
• Rep. Burgess Owens wants to let Donald Trump grab them by the canal.
• It's chemtrail time on Utah's Capitol Hill.

My guest this week is former Rep. Brian King, who announced this week he's running to become the Utah Democratic Party chair. We'll discuss his plan for revitalizing Utah's min...

In this episode of Special Session:

• Tensions between legislative Republicans and the Utah Education Association start to boil over.
• How lawmakers plan to make it harder for you to put initiatives on the ballot.
• More tax cuts are on the way, but there are some warning lights flashing.
• A top Republican in the Utah Legislature broke the law and is getting off scot-free.

A Utah man spent years undercover after infiltrating t...

This week in Utah Politics:

• Senator Mike Lee throws out some wild suggestions for Speaker of the House: Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy. Seriously.
• Senator Mike Lee throws out some wild suggestions for Speaker of the House: Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy. Seriously.
• Phil Lyman has more L's than the planet Krypton. Spoiler: He lost again.
• State leaders threaten Salt Lake City over its homeless problem.
• Vote-by-mail is un...

In this week's Utah political news:

• Voters from beyond the grave threaten Utah's universal vote by mail.
• Utah Senate President Stuart Adams is big mad because of a story about his campaign finance disclosures.
• The Utah Legislature tees up another round of tax cuts, but they're being coy about their plans.
• Some Utah congressmen have invited a Jan. 6 rioter to Donald Trump's inauguration.
• Congressman Burgess Owens misses out on ...

In this week's Utah political news:

• Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz makes a big donation to an anti-transgender political action committee that attacked Democrats with nasty ads during the 2024 election.
• Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah lawmakers put Utah's colleges and universities in their sights.
• Lawmakers could have a big budget problem on their hands.
• Sen. Mike Lee is ready to dismantle Social Security.
• A right-wing parents righ...