I'm Thaddeus Evans — husband, dad, Marine Corps veteran, and neighbor. I left California for my family's sake, to escape sky-high taxes and the homelessness crisis that came with them. I'm running so Utah never becomes the place we left behind.
"Before I was a candidate, I was a husband and a dad. Everything I'm fighting for starts at my own kitchen table."
Family is the reason I do all of this. It's why I left California when taxes and the cost of living made it harder every year to give my family a good life, and it's why we chose Utah.
When I talk about lower taxes, safe neighborhoods and a government that respects the family budget, I'm not reading from a script. I'm talking about the decisions my own family makes every month, the same ones families across District 9 make.
Strong families build strong communities, and strong communities are what Utah has always been about. That's what I'll fight to protect in the State Senate.
"I didn't leave California by accident. I left because the taxes kept climbing and the streets kept filling up. I won't watch it happen here."
I'm a Marine Corps veteran who spent years watching a great state get taxed, regulated, and mismanaged into a place my own family couldn't afford to stay in. High taxes. Rising homelessness. A cost of living that pushed working families out. We packed up and came to Utah because it was still the place California used to be.
Now I'm watching the same warning signs creep in here — bigger budgets, more spending, more government reaching into family budgets. District 9 deserves a senator who will fight to keep Utah, Utah — low taxes, personal responsibility, and a government that stays out of the way.
I'm running for State Senate because I believe we can grow without losing what made people want to move here in the first place. That fight starts with electing leaders who've actually seen the alternative.
Utah families should keep more of what they earn. I'll fight tax increases and push to cut wasteful spending before ever asking taxpayers for more.
Every dollar the state spends is a dollar taken from a family's budget. I'll support balanced, disciplined budgets — not California-style spending sprees.
I watched high taxes and permissive policy turn into a homelessness crisis firsthand. Utah needs proactive, common-sense policy now — not a reactive scramble later.
Responsible growth, not runaway development and regulation that prices out the families who've been here for generations.
As a Marine, I'll push for real support for veterans and their families — from job opportunities to benefits that actually reach the people who earned them.
I believe in limited government, strong communities, and policy that trusts people to run their own lives — the Utah way.
Cut the income tax. Utah families should keep more of every paycheck, and the state should live within a smaller budget rather than assume it needs today's revenue forever.
Publicly questioned eliminating the state income tax, saying it isn't "a good idea" to have less revenue available and pressing leadership on what would replace it — the posture of someone defending the current tax structure, not shrinking it.
Fix the cause, not just the symptom. Homelessness follows high taxes and high cost of living — I saw it happen in California. Lower taxes and a lighter regulatory hand keep housing affordable before people end up on the street.
Sponsored SB78, "Homeless Individuals Protection Amendments" (signed into law, March 2025) — another state program layered on top of the problem, rather than addressing the tax and cost-of-living pressures that grow it.
Trust the voters. Utahns should have a strong, direct say over their own laws through ballot initiatives and referendums — not have that power narrowed by the legislature.
Voted no on SJR401 (expanding voters' legislative power) and SB 4003 (Statewide Initiative and Referendum Amendments) — siding against measures aimed at giving Utahns more direct control.
Show up and represent the whole district. As a Marine, I know what it means to be present and accountable. I'll show up to vote and work across the aisle when it serves District 9.
Voted with her own party 98% of the time and missed 486 of 1,253 roll-call votes (72% attendance) over her time in office — a voting record that leaves little room for independent judgment on District 9's behalf.
Sources: Deseret News (Jan. 2024) on the income-tax debate; Utah Legislature bill records for SB78, SJR401, and SB 4003; MyRepTracker voting-record data. Verify current figures before publishing — voting records update every session.
District 9 flips when people who believe in lower taxes and a leaner government show up — at the door, at the mailbox, and at the ballot box.