Biography
Phil Graves is the Democratic candidate for Utah House of Representatives District 20 in the November 3, 2026 general election, in which he faces Republican incumbent Melissa Ballard.[1][2] He works in finance and, in a Ballotpedia survey, said he is running to end the Republican supermajority and to prioritize restoring the Great Salt Lake.[2][3]
Phil Graves earned a high school diploma from Rowland Hall and a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah in 2006.[2] In a Ballotpedia survey, he said he was born in Holladay, has lived in Bountiful since 2010 and has worked for a financial services firm in downtown Salt Lake City for 19 years.[3]
Graves was the Democratic candidate for District 20 in 2020, when Ballard defeated him with 67.3 percent of the vote to his 32.7 percent.[2] He ran again in 2022, when Ballard won with 60.8 percent to his 33.4 percent, with Libertarian Daniel Cottam also on the ballot.[2] He advanced from the 2026 Democratic convention on April 25, 2026, and the Democratic primary was canceled.[2]
In the survey, Graves said his priorities include restoring the Great Salt Lake, stopping new data center construction until questions about water use, noise, cooling and pollution are answered, protecting public lands and public education, adopting campaign finance laws and restoring access to reproductive health care.[3]
- 1.Utah House of Representatives elections, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 2.Phil Graves · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 3.Phil Graves - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey (2026) · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-21 Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.
Utah House District 20
Phil Graves is on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot for Utah House District 20 as D. Not researched in depth — candidate list only.
