Special Session with Bryan Schott
Special Session with Bryan Schott
Podcast Description
Ever wonder what’s really going on behind the scenes in Utah politics?
From the Capitol to your headphones, Special Session with Bryan Schott breaks down the most important news stories from the world of Utah politics.
Bryan Schott has been covering Utah politics for more than 25 years, digging into the stories that matter the most to you.
He brings insights into politics and policy and interviews with newsmakers to help you understand what’s driving the latest headlines.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on significant political events, policy analysis, and legislative updates in Utah, with episodes exploring topics like the implications of school vouchers, union rights, election integrity, and key political figures' actions. For example, recent episodes delve into the controversial union busting bill, the implications of a gerrymandering lawsuit, and the fallout from the audit of a former Attorney General.
Special Session with Bryan Schott rips the curtain back on Utah politics. No spin. No access journalism. No bootlicking. Just 25+ years of experience breaking down the stories that make elected officials squirm.
From backroom deals at the Capitol to the power plays you’re not supposed to know about, Bryan delivers fearless political coverage and interviews with newsmakers who actually matter. This is Utah politics without the PR polish.
Independent. Unfiltered. Uncomfortable for all the right people.
Bryan Schott sits down with G. Elliott Morris—former lead data editor at 538, now running the election-data newsletter Strength in Numbers and the forecasting site 50 Plus One—to dig into a trend reshaping red-state politics: Democrats stepping aside so an independent can take on the GOP one-on-one.
They start with Morris’s recent analysis of Montana’s three-way Senate race, where independent Seth Bodnar is outpolling Democrat Alani Bankhead against Republican Kurt Alme—and only pulls ahead of the Republican once the Democrat exits the equation. Bryan draws the direct line to Utah’s 2022 Senate race, when Democrats cleared the field for independent Evan McMullin against Mike Lee, and the two trace the same dynamic playing out in Nebraska with independent Dan Osborne.
From there, the conversation widens into the numbers driving the 2026 midterms: Trump’s state-by-state approval collapse (including in Utah), the “affordability problem” dragging down his presidency, and why Morris’s forecast gives Democrats an 85% chance of retaking the House and a 55% chance of flipping the Senate—plus how mid-decade redistricting has already cost Democrats roughly six House seats.
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