Brad Bonham, Utah's Republican National Committeeman, is exploring a potential bid for the state's governorship in 2028. Bonham, who co-founded the successful furniture company Walker Edison, has been increasingly active in Utah's political landscape, serving as the state's first entrepreneur-in-residence in the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity.
Bonham's interest in the race follows the recent announcement of former U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz who is communicating to key supporters his intentions to run in the 2028 gubernatorial race. Chaffetz, who resigned from Congress in 2017 and has since become a Fox News contributor, has established a state political action committee, the Utah Victory Fund, and transferred over $113,000 from his federal PAC to this state-level fund. As the race unfolds, Utah voters can anticipate a contest that juxtaposes Bonham's private-sector achievements with Chaffetz's political and media experience.
Bonham outlined a list of priorities in his social media post titled, "Let’s play a game called 'if I were governor in 2028.'" Central to his candidacy would be a push to repeal SB 54. This comes as former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz has indicated privately his intentions to pursue both the signature and convention path to the ballot in 2028 unless other conservative candidates like Bonham and former gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman opt out of the race.
In 2018, Brad Bonham ran as a Republican for the Utah House of Representatives in District 32 but lost to Democrat Suzanne Harrison, who won with over 56% of the vote. The loss marked Bonham’s first and only attempt at elected office to date, though he has remained politically active since.
Bonham goes by the online name "SuperCar Ron" online due to his love of high-end sports cars. He was recently featured in a Yahoo news article for taking two goats for a spin in his $3 million Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider, a hypercar known for its Formula 1-inspired design and limited production. Bonham shared the stunt on social media with the caption “GOATs in the GOAT" where he frequently uses playful costumes to disguise his identity.