Daniel Thatcher

Daniel W. Thatcher is an American politician and a Republican member of the Utah State Senate representing District 11 since 2023. Prior to redistricting he represented District 12.

Personal life, education, and career
Thatcher was born and raised in West Valley City. Thatcher's official biography describes him as self-educated. His profession is in electronics and low voltage wiring.

Political career
Senator Thatcher began his political pursuits when he co-founded the Salt Lake County Young Republicans. He was the chapter's first chair. He is also a co-founder of West Side Matters and has held various elected positions in the Salt Lake County Republican Party.
 * 2010 To challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Brent H. Goodfellow, Thatcher was selected by the Republican convention from two candidates for the November 2, 2010 General election, which he won with 9,432 votes (53.25%) against Senator Goodfellow.

During the 2016 Session, Thatcher served on the following committees:
 * Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee (Senate Chair)
 * Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee
 * Retirement and Independent Entities Appropriations Subcommittee
 * Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee
 * Senate Health and Human Services Committee
 * Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee
 * Senate Retirement and Independent Entities Committee

Notable legislation
In 2015, the School Safety and Crisis Line legislation (SB 175), sponsored by Thatcher and Rep. Steve Eliason, passed the Utah State Legislature designating UNI (University Neuropsychiatric Institute, now Huntsman Mental Health Institute) as the crisis provider and an active commission, chaired out of the attorney general's office, for implementation. Thatcher chose to sponsor the legislation after recognizing the statewide epidemic that had personally impacted him numerous times throughout his life.