Meet the candidate: Rob Latham, running for Utah Governor

As Election Day draws near, KSL NewsRadio is interviewing candidates to get their stance on today’s issues. Keep an eye on our election coverage as we continue speaking to the 2024 General Election candidates.

SALT LAKE CITY — Rob Latham is running in the race for Utah governor. Latham represents the Libertarian Party.

He is an attorney and according to his website is currently a roster attorney contracting with the Utah Indigent Defense Commission.

Latham has served as town attorney for Big Water, Utah in Kane County, and has represented youth and families in Washington County’s criminal courts.

He spoke with KSL At Night hosts Leah Murray and Adam Gardiner on Sept. 18, 2024. A partial transcript and full podcast can be found below.

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This interview has been modified for brevity and clarity.

HOST LEAH MURRAY: Why should voters in Utah vote for you?

ROB LATHAM: If you’re a student of politics, then maybe you follow the Gallup survey … they check in with Americans annually and [ask] ‘do we need a third major political party?’

Last year, it was the largest number has ever been. Sixty-three percent of Americans now believe we need a third major political party. 

I’m running because we have this large number of people looking for an alternative to what many of us call the uni party candidates. We’re here to give them that alternative.  

My candidacy is about taking the temperature down, giving us maybe a less polarizing alternative than what the incumbent parties have been offering voters.

Rob Latham policies and Utah voters

HOST ADAM GARDINER: What is resonating with voters as you … go throughout the state? What are some of your policy positions that are really resonating with voters?

LATHAM:  I paid attention to the Utah Foundation’s Utah priorities survey and this year I noticed that [housing is] one of their top issues. 

The other thing that respondents to that survey said were politicians not listening to voters and political partisanship. So, one thing I’ve been a huge fan of as a person who doesn’t align or affiliate with the incumbent political parties is something that most of the world’s democracies have been using for many years, and that’s called proportional representation. 

The idea is that if [a candidate] gets 10% of the vote, then [they] get 10% of the seats in the legislative body or city council or county commission. So I’m pushing that as a way to bust up the two-party system.

MURRAY: If you got elected in November, you’ll have to work in this system that you have right now. What does it look like when you are working with the Legislature under a two-party system?

LATHAM:  I count noses. I’ve watched the Legislature for many years. I think it’s about evenly split between what I would call liberty-oriented folks and more establishment, traditional folks.

So would it be a close call? Absolutely. But … I think I could reach to both the Republican side of the aisle as well as Democrats.

 

Related reading:

• Utah’s 2024 debate for governor features 3 candidates
• Meet the candidate: Skyler Beltran for Utah County Commissioner
• Meet the candidate: Alan Wessman for Utah County Commissioner

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