Emily Buss, Utah

Emily Buss is a Forward Party member of the Utah State Senate representing District 11 since December 2025 — the only third-party state legislator in Utah. A social service worker and nonprofit leader from Eagle Mountain with a background in child welfare and social impact research, she was selected through the Forward Party of Utah's unprecedented open preference poll, in which voters of all party affiliations could participate using approval voting. She ran for Eagle Mountain City Council in 2025 before being chosen to succeed retiring Forward Party Senator Daniel Thatcher, and focuses on managing growth, affordable housing, local government control, and bipartisan problem-solving.