Utah Senate District 20 covers five counties: Wasatch, Daggett, Summit, Uintah, and Duchesne. Forward Party challenger Annette McRae is running against Republican incumbent Ronald Winterton.
Winterton did not respond to Utah Public Radio's survey questions.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Senate District 20 over the next four years, and what specific policies would you support to address it?
Annette McRae: The biggest challenge facing Senate District 20 is ensuring that the communities supplying Utah’s water, energy, food, and open space are not treated as an afterthought. Our district includes Utah’s headwaters, fast-growing Wasatch Back communities, and the Uintah Basin. We need growth that strengthens local families instead of draining local water, overwhelming roads and emergency services, or pricing people out of their homes. I will fight to protect water at its source, complete the Green River water projects, invest in housing, schools, roads, broadband, and emergency response, and require transparency and meaningful local consent for major projects. I support responsible energy and economic growth, but development must be done right—not carelessly—and it must leave lasting benefits in the communities carrying the impacts.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
Utah continues to grow rapidly while facing limited water resources. What policies would you support to ensure long-term water security?
Annette McRae: Long-term water security starts by protecting water where it begins. Senate District 20 is part of Utah’s headwaters, and local watersheds, aquifers, farms, families, and public institutions must be protected before new demands are approved elsewhere. I support completing the Green River water projects, protecting Utah’s lawful Colorado River interests, upgrading aging water infrastructure, and reducing waste through serious conservation. Utah should expand reuse systems, including purple pipe where practical, and require large industrial users to use reclaimed or treated water whenever possible rather than competing for culinary water. Water-intensive projects must disclose their use before approval, earn local consent, and pay their share for the infrastructure and services they require. Water is not unlimited. We need a statewide approach that protects basin-of-origin communities, plans honestly for growth, and gets more value from every gallon.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
How do you plan to work with state, federal and nearby counties and other agencies to serve community members?
Annette McRae: A senator should bring governments together without taking decisions away from local people. I will work directly with counties, cities, tribes, water users, schools, hospitals, emergency responders, and residents before advancing major state action. Water, wildfire, housing, transportation, health care, and disaster readiness do not stop at county lines. They require practical coordination among local, state, federal, tribal, and private partners. I will pursue every available state and federal funding opportunity while insisting that local communities retain a real voice in how projects are designed and delivered. I also believe in transparency: early public notice, open meetings, plain-language information, and clear public accounting for water, taxes, infrastructure, and community impacts. Cooperation works best when local government is treated as a partner—not an obstacle.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
What specific needs do you see your rural constituents having and how would you advocate for them in the state legislature?
Annette McRae: Rural Utah needs dependable basics: water, safe roads, broadband, good schools, attainable housing, health care, reliable emergency response, and jobs that let families stay in their communities. The state often asks rural communities to provide resources for everyone else while giving them too little infrastructure and too little say. I will advocate for a fair share of funding for water systems, roads, housing, schools, EMS, behavioral-health access, and broadband. I also want the Uintah Basin prepared to serve as a regional receiving and recovery center if a major Wasatch Front disaster disrupts hospitals, transportation, or housing. That requires deliberate investment in EMS, trauma-care coordination, communications, resilient roads, fuel and power reliability, and temporary shelter capacity. Rural Utah should not be an afterthought in either daily policy or statewide emergency planning.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
How should the state address teacher recruitment and retention, particularly in smaller communities?
Annette McRae: Rural schools cannot retain great teachers if educators cannot afford to live in the communities they serve or lack professional support. I support targeted rural retention and recruitment incentives: competitive compensation, housing assistance, student-loan repayment, and service scholarships for hard-to-fill positions. Utah should also invest in “grow-your-own” pathways that help local students, paraprofessionals, and community members become licensed educators and build careers near home. New teachers need mentoring, meaningful professional development, and support for the additional demands common in small districts. Technology can expand course access, but it cannot replace a stable, well-supported teacher in the classroom. Every rural student deserves excellent instruction, and every teacher should have a realistic path to stay, serve, and raise a family in the community they support.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
How would you manage economic diversification in rural areas?
Annette McRae: Rural economic diversification should build on local strengths while creating real options for young people and working families. That includes responsible energy, agriculture, local food systems, outdoor recreation, skilled trades, small business, broadband, and workforce education. I fully support the Uintah Basin Railway because hardened, protected rails are safer than the highway. Strong transportation infrastructure can support Basin jobs while reducing the risks associated with heavy truck traffic. But development must create lasting local benefits. Major projects should be transparent, protect water and air, invest in roads and public services, and create opportunities for local workers and businesses. I support responsible energy development, not reckless development that leaves communities with the impacts and sends the benefits elsewhere. The Basin can be an economic engine, a resilient emergency-support region, and a place where families can build a future—if state policy invests in people and infrastructure as seriously as it invests in resource extraction.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
What policies would you support to improve access to primary care, mental health services, and specialty care?
Annette McRae: No rural family should have to go without care because the nearest provider is hours away or because the local clinic lacks staff. We need stronger access to primary care, mental-health care, specialty services, EMS, and trauma care across Senate District 20. I support recruitment and retention incentives for rural doctors, nurses, behavioral-health professionals, dentists, and emergency responders, including loan repayment, rural training pathways, and housing support. Telehealth can help, but it depends on reliable broadband and cannot replace in-person care where it is needed. I also support building the Uintah Basin’s capacity as a receiving and recovery center if a major Wasatch Front earthquake or disaster overwhelms hospitals, transportation networks, or housing. That means investing now in EMS, trauma-care coordination, communications, backup power, medical staffing, and local facilities. Preparedness is not separate from health care. A stronger rural health system improves daily life and makes Utah safer when the state faces its worst day.
Ronald Winterton: Did not respond.
