Jay Morgan Philpot (born July 30, 1971) is an American attorney and Republican Party politician. He was a member of the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district cont ...

from 2001 to 2004, representing District 45 in Salt Lake County from 2001 to 2004. He was vice-chair of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and has been for almost all of its history. It currently holds Utah's entire congressional delegation ...

from 2009 and 2010. Philpot was the 2010 Republican nominee for , losing to Democrat Jim Matheson. He unsuccessfully ran for

governor of Utah A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

in 2012 and

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature (US), state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members, each representing one senate district. Each senate ...

in 2016.

Early life and education

Philpot is a native of

Molalla, Oregon Molalla is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon. The population was 10,228 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Molalla was named after the Molalla River, which in turn was named for the Mo ...

. While attending the University of Utah, he interned at the White House in 1997.

Political career

Having participated in Utah's caucus/convention system as a precinct chair, state delegate, and county delegate, he successfully ran for a seat in the

in 2000. He took office in 2001, and was re-elected in 2002. Just before the end of his second term, he resigned his seat in order to attend Ave Maria School of Law in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. Upon graduation in 2007, he returned to

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

where he worked for the Utah Attorney General's office before accepting a position as the General Counsel and Government Affairs director for Reagan Outdoor Advertising. In early 2009, Philpot declared his intention to run against the incumbent vice-chair of the state Republican party. He claimed victory with 52% of the vote. While in office, he helped to create a Web Communications committee, which dramatically increased the party's digital engagement.

Unsuccessful campaigns for Congress, governor, and state Senate

Philpot resigned as

vice-chair, effective January 23, 2010, and announced his intention to run for

Utah's 2nd congressional district Utah's 2nd congressional district currently serves western Salt Lake City and the largely rural western and southern portions of Utah, including Saint George, Utah, Saint George and Tooele, UT, Tooele. The district is currently represented by R ...

in the 2010 election, challenging incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson. In the November 2010 election, Matheson defeated Philpot, 50.49% to 46.06%. In December 2011, Philpot announced his plans to run for

in the 2012 election, challenging incumbent Republican Governor

Gary Herbert Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle. Herbert w ...

.Jessica Gail
Philpot Puts Hat In Gubernatorial Ring
KCPW (December 1, 2011). Philpot said his chief issues included challenging the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...

(ACA) and federal involvement in education. Philpot said that if he were elected he would aggressively confront the U.S. federal government, deeming the federal government an "over-reaching tyrant" and the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

as "socialist." He said that Utah should attempt to " nullify" the ACA and should seek to block federal

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

of lands, even if it meant risking arrest. He criticized Herbert for aligning Utah with the

Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was an American, multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout th ...

standards, and framed the standards as an infringement of Utah's sovereignty.Utah GOP Convention: Live coverage
''Salt Lake Tribune'' (April 21, 2012). At the Utah state Republican Convention in 2012, challengers to Herbert included Philpot, Republican state representative Ken Sumsion, David Kirkham, William Skokos, and Lane Ronnow. Herbert and Philpot advanced to a second ballot, where Herbert won with 63% to Philpot's 23%. In 2016, Philpot ran for

for a

Utah County Utah County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the state's fourth-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States census ...

seat; he was defeated by Dan Hemmert.

Lawyer for 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge militants

Philpot became the lawyer for

Ammon Bundy Ammon Edward Bundy (born September 1, 1975) is an American anti-government militant and activist who led the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. He is the son of rancher Cliven Bundy, who was the central figure in ...

in May 2016, defending Bundy on federal criminal charges arising from the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Ammon Bundy was acquitted in October 2016, following a

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...

. Philpot also represents Jeanette Finicum, the wife of Robert LaVoy Finicum, in her

wrongful death Wrongful death is a type of legal claim or cause of action against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as authorized by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are ...

suit against the U.S. government.Maxine Bernstein
Judge dismisses most of claims by LaVoy Finicum's family in wrongful death suit against state police, FBI
''The Oregonian''/OregonLive (August 13, 2021). LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher, was the spokesman for a group of armed militants during the Malheur NWR occupation in 2016. He was fatally shot by Oregon state troopers after he crashed his

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

near a roadblock while state troopers and FBI agents arrested the militants. Finicum was armed with a loaded 9 mm handgun; he was killed after he walked away from his truck and reached for the inner pocket of his jacket. An investigation by local law enforcement found the shooting to be justified. The bulk of Jeanette Finicum's claims were dismissed in 2021.

Personal life

Morgan lives in Alpine, Utah with his wife, Natalie, and their five children. In February 2012, Philpot walked away uninjured after a crash sent him and two campaign staffers down a 100-foot embankment.

References

External links

*
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Philpot, Morgan 1971 births Living people People from Alpine, Utah People from Molalla, Oregon Utah lawyers American Latter Day Saints Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives University of Utah alumni Ave Maria School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the Utah Legislature