Dave Robinson announced his candidacy Thursday, saying in a news release that he is running for the unique district as an “alternative to the political establishment’s ‘uniparty’ and extreme activist candidates.”

His declaration comes days after two of Utah’s all-Republican congressional delegation, Reps. Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to undo the court-ordered electoral boundaries that created the Democratic 1st Congressional District and three Republican districts.

That’s on top of a bid to the Utah Supreme Court from the state’s Republican legislative leaders who have called the new map the most “gerrymandered” in the state’s history, and as a rush to redraw congressional districts plays out across the country with both parties trying to secure an edge in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Robinson told Utah News Dispatch in a statement he is announcing his campaign now, even as other Republicans in the state are seeking to overturn the current congressional boundaries, in order to engage “voters early and directly, not waiting for courts to decide or for the State party’s next maneuvers.”

“Whether you agree with its creation or not, the new Congressional District 1 represents a great opportunity to engage voters who have often felt unheard. While maps may be challenged, the issues facing this district are real and immediate — from land use and transportation in the Cottonwood Canyons, to water quality and supply, housing availability, immigration, homelessness, and the future of the Great Salt Lake,” Robinson said.

Utah lawmakers in a special session pushed the state’s congressional candidate filing period back about two months, to March 9-13, in an effort to allow more time for a new map to be put in place should they succeed in court before then.

He said he is structuring his campaign as if the current district makeup will remain in place, and if that changes, he will adjust. He is not in communication with state party leaders about their efforts to undo the map. In the meantime, he said he is focused on the issues that matter to Salt Lake County voters and that he is “probably the strongest individual in the Republican Party on these issues.”

If the new congressional boundaries stand for the 2026 midterm elections, the leading Republican in the race will face the winner of a crowded Democratic primary that includes Utah’s last Democrat in Congress, Ben McAdams, Sen. Kathleen Riebe of Cottonwood Heights, Sen. Nate Blouin of Millcreek, first-term Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez, former state Sen. Derek Kitchen, and Liban Mohamed, who most recently worked on TikTok’s public policy team and resigned ahead of announcing his run.

Robinson, of Salt Lake City, ran unsuccessfully for Salt Lake County mayor in 2016. He has been off the state’s political stage since he was ousted from his volunteer communications position in March 2021 in a swirl of allegations that he repeatedly spoke to Republican women in derogatory and inappropriate ways and strong-armed their 2020 campaigns. Then-Salt Lake County GOP Chair Scott Miller, who defended Robinson, also resigned in the wake of the controversy.

In January 2022 both men sued a number of top Republican officials — from the governor’s office to the statehouse to the county — claiming defamation and alleging a conspiracy to force them out. A majority of the long list of defendants in Robinson’s lawsuit have been dismissed, and a hearing on outstanding motions in the case is scheduled for Feb. 25. Miller’s claims have been dismissed.

When it comes to the allegations against him and his ongoing litigation, Robinson told Utah News Dispatch he doesn’t expect voters to ignore them, but to evaluate them for themselves.

“There have been serious allegations made against me, and they deserve scrutiny. Allegations, no matter how many times repeated, are not facts. What matters are records and sworn testimony. I’m confident in what the record shows, and I trust voters to distinguish between allegations and proof,” Robinson said by email.

“If standing up to powerful interests brings consequences, I think voters deserve to know whether their representatives are willing to face them.”

In his campaign declaration, Robinson points to his longstanding focus on issues “that directly affect CD1 residents,” like spending in the development of the Mountain Accord management plan (he challenged then-incumbent McAdams on the issue in his unsuccessful bid for Salt Lake County mayor), a controversial proposal to build a gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon, debt collection by “predatory” homeowner association management companies, preserving public recreation access, and affordable homebuilding.

“I’m not a career politician or an outrage merchant. I’m a problem-solver who has spent years in the trenches of water policy, land use, and housing,” Robinson said in the news release.

“I’ve seen how the establishment and ‘uniparty’ work behind closed doors, manipulating the system and making you pay their steep price. I’m running to bring that work into the light of day and serve the people of CD1. You deserve representation with a track record of hard work and competence, not deception and closed doors.”

Robinson, who says he is a “housing innovator and grassroots operative,” also announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination through both the Republican convention and signature gathering.