Industry News
Utah Democrats have selected their nominees for several key races in the 2024 election, with Caroline Gleich securing the party’s nod for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitt Romney.
Gleich, a ski mountaineer and environmental activist, won over 92% of the delegate votes at the state convention on Saturday, easily defeating challengers Laird Fetzer-Hamblin and Archie Williams III. Gleich will advance directly to the November general election since she obtained more than 55% of the votes.
“I am honored to officially accept the Democratic nomination to be Utah’s next Senator. We’re running a historically strong campaign focused on our families, our freedom, and our future. As your nominee, I’m excited to take our message directly to Utahns as we move into the general election. As a ski mountaineer who has climbed the highest mountains in the world against all odds, I’m no stranger to a tough challenge and am ready to take this campaign to the summit in November. I’m asking Utahns who are looking for a different kind of leader in Washington to join me.”
– Caroline Gleich
Caroline Gleich has faced many obstacles throughout her life that she has been able to overcome and achieve. She has climbed Mt. Everest and 8,000-meter Cho Oyu despite being told she was too small and not strong enough to accomplish it. Gleich is an avid climate activist, human rights promoter, and advocate for gender equity.
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life with skeptics questioning my height, strength, and bravery for scaling the world’s tallest mountains. Yet, I’ve summited Everest and Cho Oyu. I’ve broken records and defied limits. Running for the United States Senate to represent the people of Utah is undoubtedly an uphill climb, but I’m no stranger to overcoming challenges.” – Gleich posted on her Instagram page.
She filed for her candidacy at the Utah State Capitol and announced that she would run for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat on Monday, January 8, 2024. The senate seat was left vacant because long-time Republican Senator Mitt Romney has chosen not to run again. Gleich has never held public office but is confident she is up to the challenge.
“As I start this climb towards the U.S. Senate, I carry with me the lessons learned from reaching mountain peaks and navigating life’s terrain,” Gleich wrote on her Intstagram. “My commitment is unwavering—to empower, to protect, and to advocate for a brighter future.”
Gleich is no stranger to promoting environmental issues and has advocated to Utah state lawmakers to take measures to protect the Great Salt Lake. The Minnesota native first moved to Utah in 2001, having lived in both Salt Lake City and Park City, and plans to continue to fight for the environment and social justice, climate action, and gender equity. “When we talk about big, ambitious environmental goals like saving our Great Salt Lake, people are going to say it’s impossible, and we can’t listen to what anyone else says that we’re capable of,” Gleich said.
“How cool would it be to build an electric, bullet-speed nationwide passenger railway system to revitalize our public transportation and make it affordable and accessible for all Americans?
To reach our climate goals, we need to invest in more public transportation that’s fast, efficient, and affordable.
It’s what I will work for in the United States Senate.”
– Caroline Gleich
She has received endorsements from other professional athletes, including professional freeskier Julian Carr. He received the 2021 George Mallory Lifetime Achievement Award, the ‘Photo of the Year’ award from Powder Magazine, the prestigious Sickbird Award on the Freeskiing World Tour, along with being an X-Games Gold Medalist. Carr wrote about Gleich’s announcement on Instagram, simply saying, “Go get em.”
Gleich’s announcement to run for office was in response to Sen. Romney’s call for “a new generation of leaders” to become involved in politics. Her vision for Utah and the country is to produce positive changes regarding people, the environment, gender, and climate action.
