By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News | Photo courtesy of the Utah State Legislature

A major change is coming for the residents of House District 67, as longtime representative Christine Watkins announced she will not seek reelection to the state legislature in 2026.

“I’ve decided to stay closer to home and run for a local office,” Watkins said in an interview with KSL. 

Watkins also spoke on the difficulties of being a rural legislator,” We have to really travel. … For us that live out in the rural areas, we move to Salt Lake for seven weeks during the session. It’s not easy.”

HD67 is one of the largest districts in the state, comprising parts of Carbon, Emery and Duchesne counties.

Watkins first served in the state legislature in 2008 as a Democrat, where she served until 2012 when she was defeated by Jerry Anderson. After switching parties, she again won her seat in 2016 and has served since. 

Leading up to Watkins’ most recent reelection run, in which she defeated Democratic Challenger Joe Christman handily after surviving a primary scare from Tom Hansen, the representative signed the Term Limits on Congress Pledge from the bipartisan group U.S. Term Limits.

“That’s one of the issues I have with the federal government, it begins to feel like a lifelong appointment,” said Watkins of the pledge. “I think if we set up a fair term limit and then there’s turnover, we bring in fresh ideas and fresh perspectives from back home.”

Watkins announced plans to run for one of the two open seats on the Carbon County Commission in the 2026 midterm elections. The representative also shared that she plans to finish out the remainder of her term and complete the 2026 legislative session, which begins on Jan. 20.