Legislators / Karen M. Peterson
Karen M. Peterson
Republican · House District 13 · House Rules Vice Chair
Where they land
47th most conservative of 71 House members · 47th most conservative of 57 Republicans
- Democrat
- Republican
- Rep. Karen M. Peterson
Placed only by their own votes: we took the 115 contested House floor votes of the 2026 session (where at least 10% voted on the losing side) and found the main line that divides how members vote, the same idea political scientists use to score Congress. No bill is labeled liberal or conservative by us; the conservative end is simply the side where most Republicans fall. More on how this works
See every House member in order
- Mark A. Strong (R-47)
- Nicholeen P. Peck (R-28)
- Jason B. Kyle (R-8)
- Tiara Auxier (R-4)
- Michael J. Petersen (R-2)
- Stephanie Gricius (R-50)
- Kay J. Christofferson (R-53)
- Candice B. Pierucci (R-49)
- Ken Ivory (R-39)
- Mike L. Kohler (R-59)
- Rex P. Shipp (R-71)
- Karianne Lisonbee (R-14)
- Jill Koford (R-10)
- Kristen Chevrier (R-54)
- Troy Shelley (R-66)
- Scott H. Chew (R-68)
- Ryan D. Wilcox (R-7)
- Jake Sawyer (R-9)
- A. Cory Maloy (R-52)
- Mike Schultz (R-12)
- Katy Hall (R-11)
- Casey Snider (R-5)
- Lisa Shepherd (R-61)
- Thomas W. Peterson (R-1)
- Carl R. Albrecht (R-70)
- Doug Fiefia (R-48)
- Walt Brooks (R-75)
- Matt MacPherson (R-26)
- Colin W. Jack (R-73)
- Stewart E. Barlow (R-17)
- Val L. Peterson (R-56)
- Bridger Bolinder (R-29)
- Logan Monson (R-69)
- Stephen L. Whyte (R-63)
- Joseph Elison (R-72)
- Jordan D. Teuscher (R-44)
- Nelson T. Abbott (R-57)
- Jason E. Thompson (R-3)
- R. Neil Walter (R-74)
- Jon Hawkins (R-55)
- Cheryl K. Acton (R-38)
- Calvin Roberts (R-46)
- David Shallenberger (R-58)
- Melissa G. Ballard (R-20)
- Christine F. Watkins (R-67)
- Ariel Defay (R-15)
- Karen M. Peterson (R-13)
- Steve Eliason (R-43)
- Doug Welton (R-65)
- Norman K Thurston (R-62)
- Paul A. Cutler (R-18)
- Tracy Miller (R-45)
- Raymond P. Ward (R-19)
- James A. Dunnigan (R-36)
- Anthony E. Loubet (R-27)
- Clinton Okerlund (R-42)
- Leah Hansen (R-51)
- Ashlee Matthews (D-37)
- Andrew Stoddard (D-40)
- Verona Mauga (D-31)
- Jake Fitisemanu (D-30)
- Grant Amjad Miller (D-24)
- Carol S. Moss (D-34)
- John Arthur (D-41)
- Hoang Nguyen (D-23)
- Jennifer Dailey-Provost (D-22)
- Sahara Hayes (D-32)
- Angela Romero (D-25)
- Sandra Hollins (D-21)
- Doug Owens (D-33)
- Rosalba Dominguez (D-35)
Most conservative first.
Do they follow their party's stated positions?
Rep. Karen M. Peterson measured against the Utah Republican Party platform (we found no campaign promises of their own).
- 4 Sided with it
- 1 Went against it
- 3 No record on it
- of 8
Right to lifeWe strongly support adoption and oppose abortion, except to preserve the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundNo record on it
None of these bills reached a House floor vote. Bills checked: H.B. 232.
Right to workWe support the Utah Right to Work Law. Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundNo record on it
None of these bills reached a House floor vote. Bills checked: S.B. 178.
Immigration enforcementWe believe that current laws against employing illegal immigrants should be vigorously enforced Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: goes against itWent against it
Voted with this plank 0 of 1 times. Bills checked: H.B. 294, H.B. 386, H.B. 287.
Parental rightsWe affirm that parents have the fundamental right and primary responsibility to direct the upbringing of their children Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundNo record on it
They didn't vote on these bills on the House floor. Bills checked: H.B. 259.
Lower taxesHowever, we recognize that the power to tax is also the power to control… Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: matchesSided with it
Voted with this plank 2 of 2 times. Bills checked: S.B. 60, H.B. 235.
Right to bear armsWe support the individual constitutionally-protected right of the people to keep and bear arms… Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: matchesSided with it
Voted with this plank 3 of 3 times. Bills checked: H.B. 84, H.B. 214, H.B. 101.
Religious freedomWe claim freedom of religion for every citizen and expect the protection of government… Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: matchesSided with it
Voted with this plank 3 of 3 times. Bills checked: S.B. 174, H.B. 204, S.B. 268.
Work requirements for welfareWe support requiring welfare recipients to work towards self-sufficiency. Said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: matchesSided with it
Voted with this plank 1 of 1 times. Bills checked: H.B. 471.
✓ matches · ✕ goes against it · ● spoke on the record · … not compiled yet · – nothing found. Tap a row for the evidence. · How we score
Hear from them directly
Contact Rep. Karen M. Peterson
- Email: kpeterson@le.utah.gov
- Phone: 385-285-6790
- Office: 2122 W 1800 N STE D #340, CLINTON, UT, 84015
Constituents get priority, so say you live in their district. Writing about a specific bill? Open it and use Take action for a ready-to-send message.
Watch or join a meeting
Every committee hearing and floor session is open to the public and streamed live on le.utah.gov. Each committee's agenda has the link to watch or join online, and how to sign up for public comment.
Karen M. Peterson serves on:
- Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
- House Education Committee
- House Political Subdivisions Committee
- House Rules Committee
- Education Interim Committee
- Transportation Interim Committee
Did they show up for voters?
Candidate questionnaires
Not checked yet.
Town halls
None recorded yet.
Floor votes missed
Being compiled.
Answering voter questionnaires and holding public meetings are ways Rep. Karen M. Peterson can be reached outside the Capitol. A missed vote can have a good reason, such as illness or a family emergency.
2026 General Session.
Bills they wrote
All 6 →- H.B. 143 Special Education Amendments · Became law
- H.B. 236 Truth in Taxation Amendments · Became law
- H.B. 242 Initiative and Referendum Signature Gathering and Removal Amendments · Became law
- H.B. 352 Higher Education Alignment · Became law
- H.B. 373 Higher Education Innovation · Became law
What they've said lately
All 152 →S.B. 193 State Legal Holiday Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026
Proposes a verbal amendment on line 62 to strike Washington and Lincoln.
▶ Watch at 41:23Read what they said
I'm on the first substitute, yes. So line 62. Okay. I'd like to strike Strike Washington and Lincoln and replace it with presidents.
S.B. 193 State Legal Holiday Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026
Speaks to the amendment, noting it is their last day in the legislature and that the federal name of the holiday is President's Day.
▶ Watch at 41:42Read what they said
Yes. You know, it's my last day here in the legislature and it has always kind of bothered me that we haven't had this called President's Day. That's the name of it as a federal holiday, and we've had a lot of incredible presidents. So I think we can go ahead and align it while we have this section of code open.
S.B. 251 Local Health Department and Department of Environmental Quality Coordination · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026
Explains that the bill came from DEQ and local health departments working together to create a process for local governments and health departments to recover extraordinary costs from responding to environmental enforcement, and that the amount to be paid is not set by the bill.
▶ Watch at 57:20Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. So this bill came about, um, from a conversation between DEQ and our local health departments, um, who have worked together to create this piece of legislation. What it does is it creates a coordinated effort between DEQ and local health departments and local governments to recoup costs in the event that there's an extraordinary expense incurred in responding to environmental enforcement activity in the community. So this just really sets the process, if something like this happens, um, then, um, then you know, the outcome of of, um, how much will be paid out or whatever will be a result of the process. The outcome isn't set, just, um, starting to put together a process. …
About
- In office since
- January 5, 2022
- Counties
- Davis
- Profession
- Policy Analyst
- Education
- B.A. Utah State University; M.P.A. Southern Utah University
- Honors and awards
- None listed in their official profile.
- kpeterson@le.utah.gov
Money and conflicts of interest
- Campaign finance reports (who donated to their campaign, from the Lt. Governor's disclosure site)
- No conflict-of-interest disclosure is linked in their official profile.
Coming next: their top donors and disclosed interests shown next to the related votes.
Official biography
Karen Peterson was selected in a special election to represent House District 13 (Clearfield, Clinton, Sunset, and West Point) in December 2021. She has lived with her family in Clinton for 15 years and currently works as the Community Development Manager for Sunrise Engineering. Previously she worked as the Legislative Policy Director for Gov. Spencer Cox and as the Deputy Education Policy Advisor for Governor Gary Herbert.<br><br> As a two-term member of the Clinton City Council, Peterson has experience in local government and municipal policy as well as connections with many community and industry groups. She earned a bachelor's degree from Utah State University and a Master of Public Administration from Southern Utah University, where she has worked as adjunct faculty.<br><br> She and her husband, Eric, have three children and a very active Australian Shepherd. They have close ties to Hill Air Force Base where Eric works as an engineer on the ICBM program.
Profile details come from the Utah Legislature's official legislator data.