Owens Will Not Run for Re-Election

Rep. Burgess Owens, a Utah Republican and chair of the House subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, will not be running for office this year.

During his three terms in the House, Owens emerged as a vocal critic of higher education. He led hearings about the rise of campus antisemitism, which he blamed on DEI, and alleged liberal bias in the Truman scholarship and on college price transparency, among other issues.

Owens’s decision, announced Wednesday, makes him the latest in a swath of House Republicans choosing to retire or step down. It also came shortly after the state redrew its congressional districts and could aid the Utah Republican Party in avoiding a member-on-member primary competition, multiple news outlets report.

Although Owens’s current district is likely to remain Republican, two other right-wing districts—currently led by Reps. Mike Kennedy and Celeste Maloy—were combined. In stepping down, Owens creates the opportunity for one of his colleagues to stay in their own district and the other to run in his.

That said, Owens did not directly address the redistricting in his resignation announcement. Instead, he focused on being called to continue advocating for “at-risk children” beyond the House.

“After careful reflection, I have concluded that to continue this work, the next chapter of my mission would be best pursued outside elected office,” he said when announcing the decision on social media. “I will finish this term fully committed and fully accountable. My final political sprint will be here in Utah and across the country, helping my colleagues expand our Republican majority.”