Utah Senate Democrats voted Tuesday night to expel Sen. Kathleen Riebe from their caucus and called on her to resign her seat immediately, following an independent investigation into complaints of workplace discrimination and harassment. The Cottonwood Heights Democrat, first elected to the Senate in 2020, also lost her position as caucus manager as part of the vote.
The caucus made the announcement in a joint statement from Minority Leader Sen. Luz Escamilla, Minority Whip Sen. Karen Kwan, Assistant Whip Sen. Jen Plumb, Sen. Stephanie Pitcher and Sen. Nate Blouin, according to KJZZ. “Tuesday night, the caucus voted to remove her from its ranks,” the outlet reported, describing a decisive break between Riebe and her fellow Senate Democrats. The five senators said Riebe's behavior was deeply unsettling and would not be tolerated, per the Salt Lake Tribune.
The action follows the release Monday of findings from a formal, independent investigation launched in response to an official complaint alleging workplace discrimination and harassment involving Riebe in her capacity as a state senator. The caucus statement said investigators identified a pattern of conduct toward others likely motivated by race, national origin, or ethnicity, as well as statements concerning employment decisions involving individuals based on sexual orientation or other protected characteristics.
Caucus Withholds Details of Underlying Conduct
Neither the caucus nor investigators spelled out the specific incidents that prompted the complaint. ABC4 confirmed the caucus did not detail exactly what conduct led to the investigation, even as it moved to strip Riebe of her caucus membership and her role as caucus manager. The station reported it had reached out to Riebe for comment and was still waiting to hear back at the time of its report, according to ABC4.
Riebe's path to the Senate wound through a varied resume. Before entering politics, she worked as a police dispatcher, drove dump trucks, spent a year as a wildland firefighter in Washington state, and worked in an outdoor education program in Georgia, according to the Tribune. Born on Long Island, New York, she has said she moved to Utah 34 years ago intending to spend just a year skiing and never left. She currently works as an educator who trains teachers in rural school districts and was up for reelection in 2028.
A Run for Congress Ended in a Landslide Loss
Riebe's political ambitions reached beyond the Senate in 2023, when Democrats nominated her in the special election to replace former Rep. Chris Stewart in Utah's 1st Congressional District. She lost that race to Rep. Celeste Maloy, 57%-33%, the Tribune reported. She later ran for Utah's 1st Congressional seat, then dropped out and endorsed former Rep. Ben McAdams.
The caucus's move against one of its own echoes a 2022 case involving former Sen. Gene Davis. An independent investigation that year found it more likely than not that Davis violated the Legislature's harassment policy in his interactions with a former intern, Senate President Stuart Adams announced at the time, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune. Davis was stripped of all committee assignments and urged to resign; the Senate Democratic caucus said he would no longer hold a caucus leadership role. Davis ultimately announced he would retire on Nov. 19, 2022, stepping down before the end of his term.
Whether Riebe will follow a similar path remains unclear. The caucus's statement called for her immediate resignation but stopped short of detailing what consequences, if any, would follow if she declines to step down from the seat she has held since 2020.
