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Find KUER's reporting on the races, candidates and more for Utah’s 2018 midterm elections. Click here for our graphics of the U.S. Senate race, 4 Congressional races and Utah ballot initiatives.

After Winning Tight Primary, Dailey-Provost Confident Heading Into Fall Election

Jen Dailey-Provost headshot image.
Facebook / Jen Dailey-Provost

Jen Dailey-Provost faced a tough four-way Democratic primary in the state Legislature’s 24th House District, beating her closest opponent by only 55 votes after results were finalized Tuesday.

“I joke with everybody that my refresh button on my computer is broken because I constantly checked that vote count,” she said.

Dailey-Provost is hoping to replace retiring Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, who endorsed her in the primary.

The Democratic candidate is executive director of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians, which has brought her to Capitol Hill to lobby for health care policies.

“In the primary, I was the candidate with the most relevant experience on the Hill, and that doesn’t change for the general,” she said.

Dailey-Provost said she believes the general election will be an easier race than the primary. She faces a Republican opponent, Scott Rosenbush, but the 24th district, representing Salt Lake City’s Avenues neighborhood, is one of the most liberal in the Legislature.

If elected, Dailey-Provost said her priorities will be health care issues, air quality and housing.

She supports each of the three ballot initiatives going before voters this fall. Those measures aim to legalize medical cannabis, fully expand Medicaid and create an independent commission to redraw voting districts.

“By and large, those are more Democratic, moderate issues. I think in the wake of that, we can flip a lot of seats” from Republican to Democrat in the general election, Dailey-Provost said.

Until November, the newly-minted nominee is campaigning with other Democrats. She’s even started to work on drafting new bills for the 2019 legislative session.

Nicole Nixon holds a Communication degree from the University of Utah. She has worked on and off in the KUER Newsroom since 2013, when she first joined KUER as an intern. Nicole is a Utah native. Besides public radio, she is also passionate about beautiful landscapes and breakfast burritos.
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