Daniel Cottam

Daniel Cottam was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated from Cypress Creek High School.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1993 and an M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1997.[1] Cottam's career experience includes work as a bariatric surgeon, a business owner and a consultant with Medtronic, which The Salt Lake Tribune also reports. In 2024 he said he practiced surgery in what was then the 1st District and had started four healthcare businesses.[1][2][3]

Cottam said in his 2024 survey that he had been registered as both a Republican and a Democrat before registering as a Libertarian at age 50.[2] He ran as the Libertarian candidate for Utah governor in 2020, receiving 3.5%, for Utah House District 20 in 2022, receiving 5.7%, and for U.S. House in Utah's 1st District in 2024, receiving 4.8%, losing each time.[1] He said in 2024 that he is married and has five children.[2] In his 2024 Ballotpedia survey he said he was running on balanced budgets and Medicare reform.[2] He received 1.8% of the vote to Blake Moore's 50.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[4]