Candidate photo via lp.org. Photo: lp.org candidate page (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · lp.org candidate page
Candidate photo via lp.org. Photo: lp.org candidate page (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · lp.org candidate page
Politically neutral. Every candidate on this ballot gets the same sections. The party shown is the one the ballot lists. A section is missing only where we haven't yet found an official source for it. How we stay neutral
Jesse West was a candidate for U.S. House, District 1 in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. The ballot listed Jesse West, Libertarian. Counts are unofficial until the canvass; see the election night results and the official results. The district covers all or part of Salt Lake County.
The state certified Jesse West as a Libertarian candidate for Utah's 1st Congressional District on the November 3 general-election ballot. The seat is a U.S. House seat with a two-year term.[1]
West is one of five candidates for Utah's newly drawn 1st Congressional District, which covers most of Salt Lake County, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The others are Democrat Ben McAdams, Republican Riley Owen, unaffiliated candidate Elias Montgomery and write-in candidate Bobby Darvish.[4]
Background
The Tribune describes West as an attorney active in the Salt Lake City Libertarian Party. He says he is running as a Libertarian to give voters a third-party option.[2]
The Tribune describes West as an attorney and chair of the Salt Lake City Libertarian Party. His party candidate page calls him a 30-year-old family law attorney and skier who first visited Utah in 2018 and moved to Salt Lake City after finishing school. He says he is not a career politician. These details come from his own page.[4][3]
Ethics and government
West says corruption is real. He would seek to repeal the War Powers Resolution of 1973.[2]
Taxes and spending
West says Utahns pay too much in taxes and do not get enough back. He favors lower taxes and cuts to federal spending, including money sent abroad for war, and would seek to cut funding to Israel. He opposes U.S. military involvement abroad.[2]
Water
West supports protecting Utah's water rights, voluntary conservation, water banking and infrastructure improvements, and wants water decisions kept with Utah rather than Washington.[2]
Positions
His page lists five goals: ending needless wars, protecting the environment, ending the federal death penalty, reducing taxes and opposing what he calls oppressive immigration enforcement. His campaign slogan is "a vote for me is a vote to ski, not war."[3]
On water, the Tribune reports he supports protecting Utah's water rights while expanding voluntary conservation, water banking and infrastructure, and wants water allocation decisions kept in Utah. He also backs spending cuts, opposes war funding and would repeal the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the Tribune reports.[4]
The Tribune also reports he opposes Constitutional Amendment A and supports Amendment B.[4]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 29, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
A 2018 ballot initiative, a court fight that began in 2022 and a failed repeal drive produced the map Utah votes under on Nov. 3, including a Salt Lake County district that leans Democratic.
