Who is David Chappell? Democrat flips Utah House seat in Provo

PROVO — The Utah Legislature is about to have something it hasn't in decades — a Democrat from Utah County.

David Chappell, a 27-year-old engineer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is set to replace a longtime Republican in the Utah House of Representatives.

Chappell's victory over Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, was part of a blue wave that cost Utah Republicans their supermajority in the House.

"It's incredible," Chappell told KSL on Tuesday. "I definitely wasn't expecting it."

Chappell is an engineer who graduated from Brigham Young University. He first moved to Utah in 2019 to attend school and lives in Provo with his partner.

He and his team "knocked so many doors" and "talked to so many people," Chappell said, as he campaigned for the seat in House District 62, which encompasses parts of Provo and Springville.

Thurston has represented that area for almost 12 years.

"It's always been a fairly safe district," Thurston said.

But that all changed last week when Democrats made huge gains across the country, and in Utah.

"One of the things that I think we've all learned from this election is that there's a segment of the population that's angry, or very dissatisfied at least, with the Republican brand," Thurston said.

All told, at least a dozen incumbent GOP Utah House members lost their seats, according to projections by the Associated Press.

"It appears that it was kind of a broad brush," Thurston said, "that if you had the Republican label after your name and you didn't have a significant cushion, you were in jeopardy."

Thurston said he's interested in potentially running for the seat again in 2028, although he acknowledged "it's a long time to make a final decision."

What Chappell wants to focus on

Chappell goes to the Capitol with a different political philosophy than his predecessor. During the campaign, he pushed proposals like free school meals, banning corporate money in politics and passing a workers and renters bill of rights.

"I know a lot of Republican renters that are fed up with the landlord Legislature, that they just legislate in their favor, in favor of landlords," Chappell said.

He also said he wants to focus on addressing the housing crisis, saving the shrinking Great Salt Lake, and ending sales tax on "essentials."

Thurston said Chappell's "ideas and his platform fairly heavily align with Democratic Socialist proposals and progressive things which are not common in Utah County."

"If it's a socialist idea to provide free school meals, then I don't really care," Chappell responded.

Chappell told KSL he is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America but never attended a meeting and identifies more as an independent. He said he wants to push back against the "establishment" of both major political parties.

"This legislative session, I think, will be all about listening to people and doing what the people want," Chappell said.

The incoming lawmaker is also queer and said the LGBTQ community "inspired me along the way and told me I could do this" as he sought the legislative seat.

However, Chappell said he believes voters don't "care about that anymore" when choosing a candidate.

"I'm hopeful that the culture war is over," Chappell said, "and that we can just focus on making people's groceries cheaper."

The next legislative session starts in January.