‘Violence is not the answer’: Trump-backed effort to flip Utah seat descends into chaos with fraud claims, assaults, and stolen signatures

A major effort backed by President Trump to change Utah’s congressional map has turned into a mess. The plan aims to repeal an anti-gerrymandering law and flip a Democratic seat to Republican control. But the campaign is facing serious problems, including claims of fake signatures, physical attacks, and stolen petition papers.

According to Politico, the initiative has a deadline of February 15, but it’s far behind on collecting enough verified signatures. Signature collectors, many hired from other states, have been attacked by opponents, and their papers have been stolen or destroyed. At the same time, county clerks are finding hundreds of suspicious submissions with forged names and addresses. 

Some people who signed the petition told local news they were tricked into signing it, thinking it was against ICE actions instead of a political effort. The chaos got so bad that Republican Governor Spencer Cox asked people in Utah to “resolve disagreements peacefully.” Brad Bonham, who is sponsoring the initiative, agreed and said, “Violence is not the answer to any of this. I don’t understand anybody that would do that.”

National Republicans are pushing hard to keep Utah fully red

National Republicans, with Trump’s full support, are trying to overturn a court-ordered congressional map. A judge recently created a new map that includes one safe Democratic seat in Salt Lake County. The goal is to repeal an anti-gerrymandering law that Utah voters passed in 2018. If the repeal works, the Republican-controlled state legislature could redraw the map before the 2028 elections and likely create four safe GOP seats.

President Trump posted on Truth Social encouraging his followers to support this “very important effort” to “KEEP UTAH RED.” The president has been making bold declarations lately, recently declaring himself the “tariff king” while warning European countries about trade compliance. 

Groups like Turning Point Action, founded by the late Charlie Kirk, are “all in” on the campaign. Securing American Greatness Inc. has paid for about 700 workers and spent $4.3 million on the effort by November, with spending continuing to increase.

Despite all that money and workers, the campaign is failing badly. They need over 140,000 verified signatures by the deadline but only have about 76,000 as of Friday. That’s roughly half of what they need. An independent analysis shows the initiative will likely fall short of required thresholds across the state’s Senate districts.

Republican leaders are still trying to sound confident. Brad Bonham claims they have “many, many thousands of signatures” they’re checking internally before submitting. GOP State Chairman Rob Axson said, “We feel very, very good about the strategy that we are executing on.” Axson tried to downplay the fraud claims, saying they fired several workers caught in misconduct but that out of 3,000 people involved, “you only have a small handful of bad actors.”

County clerks say the fraud is shocking. Aaron Davidson, the Utah County Clerk, said his office flagged hundreds of likely forged or denied signatures. Davidson believes “the signature gatherers that are doing this are just trying to find an easy way to make money.” 

Some observers have raised concerns about Trump’s recent erratic behavior patterns, which may affect his political influence. Meanwhile, Better Boundaries, an anti-gerrymandering group, is fighting back by mailing letters to nearly 8,000 people who signed, asking them to remove their names within 45 days. Executive Director Elizabeth Rasmussen doubts Trump’s involvement helps, noting, “Trump’s approval rating in Utah is at an all-time low.”