Sources tell UtahPolicy.com that CHG Healthcare CEO Michael Weinholtz is set to launch a bid for Utah Governor, running on the Democratic ticket.
Democrats with knowledge of Weinholtz’s plans say he could make a formal announcement of his candidacy as early as this week.
If he does run, Weinholtz has got quite a hill to climb as Democrats have not won a statewide election in Utah for two decades. That’s a streak of 28 straight losses dating back to 1996 when Jan Graham was elected Attorney General.
Most recently, Democrats have gotten spanked in gubernatorial contests:
- In 2008, Jon Huntsman crushed Bob Springmeyer by nearly 58-points
- In 2010, current Governor Gary Herbert topped Peter Corroon by 32 points.
- In 2012, Herbert thumped Peter Cooke by 41-points.
Weinholtz’s wife, Donna, is the vice-chair for Equality Utah. In 2014, she was part of a group of protestors arrested at the Utah Capitol who demonstrated against the Legislature’s refusal to hold a hearing on a statewide non-discrimination measure.
Weinholtz is the President of the Board of Directors for the ACLU of Utah. He also is a member of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Salt Lake and the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.
The only declared Democratic candidate at this point is Vaughn Cook, who is gathering signatures to get on the primary ballot. Cook is the CEO of ZYTO Corp.
Calls to Weinholtz seeking comment were not returned.
