Candidate headshot via BallotReady file photo. Photo: BallotReady (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · Wikimedia Commons
Candidate headshot via BallotReady file photo. Photo: BallotReady (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · Wikimedia Commons
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Daniel Cottam is a candidate for U.S. House, District 2. The ballot lists Daniel Cottam, Libertarian. The district covers all or part of Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Rich and Weber counties.
Daniel Cottam is a surgeon with a professional background in bariatric surgery, the surgical treatment of obesity. His practice biography says he grew up in Houston, attended Brigham Young University and returned to Texas for medical school. It describes a residency at Nassau University Medical Center and a two-year minimally invasive surgery fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. [2]
CommonSpirit's provider directory independently lists the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, Nassau University Medical Center and a bariatric fellowship at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. It identifies general surgery as his specialty and lists American Board of Surgery certification. These are professional-directory records, not campaign endorsements. [3]
Research, teaching and practice
His practice biography describes early work in Las Vegas involving bariatric operations, abdominal-wall reconstruction and revisional surgery, as well as teaching other surgeons. It also describes research concerning obesity and diabetes. Promotional claims about pioneering procedures or improving complication rates are not treated here as independently established comparative findings. [2]
The 2026 Utah News Dispatch voter guide identifies him as a business owner, bariatric surgeon and consultant. CommonSpirit lists the Bariatric Medicine Institute in Salt Lake City as his primary practice location. [4] [3]
Political experience and the 2026 race
Cottam is the Libertarian candidate for Utah's 2nd Congressional District on the state's current filing list. His political activity predates this race: KSL NewsRadio's archived 2020 coverage includes him as the Libertarian candidate for governor. That earlier race was for a different office and under different circumstances. [1] [5]
The archived gubernatorial material discussed a health-care platform that included allowing pharmaceutical purchases across state boundaries. This is historical campaign context only. An older proposal should not be assumed to be his current 2026 position without a current statement confirming it. [5]
What is documented for this campaign
Utah News Dispatch's 2026 questionnaire records no response from Cottam to its questions on water, affordability, energy or serving all constituents. That limits the current policy detail available from that source; it does not establish that he has no views on those subjects. [4]
U.S. representatives serve two-year terms. Cottam's professional credentials, earlier governor campaign and current congressional candidacy are separate parts of his background; none establishes that he has held the federal office he now seeks. [6]
The Salt Lake Tribune's October 12 District 2 questionnaire lists Cottam as a bariatric surgeon who also consults for the medical technology company Medtronic. He was the only candidate who did not respond to the questionnaire, so every answer is marked as not provided. [9]
Earlier campaigns and results
Cottam was the Libertarian nominee for governor in 2020 with Barry Short, then vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah, as his running mate. A Wikipedia summary of the results lists him at 51,393 votes, or 3.52 percent statewide, including 3.02 percent in Salt Lake County and 3.84 percent in Utah County. [7]
In 2024 he was the Libertarian candidate in Utah's 1st Congressional District and received 17,601 votes, or 4.81 percent, according to the same kind of results summary. He is running in the 2nd District in 2026, so the earlier results were in different races and districts. The summaries restate state canvass numbers; the state's own results pages are the primary record. [8]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 26, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
With a recent poll showing a five-point gap, Democratic challenger Peter Crosby said Republican Rep. Blake Moore is content with the status quo, and Moore pointed to his legislative record.
