Representative Ariel Defay Contact information

Ariel Defay is the representative-elect for Utah House District 15 in Davis County. She replaced Brad Wilson when he resigned on November 15, 2023. Ariel is a Republican and has a strong connection to Davis County, with three generations of her family having lived there. Her grandfather began working at Hill Air Force Base after World War II.

Ariel has always had a passion for civic engagement. This began when she ran for and won the position of student body vice president at Utah State University over 20 years ago. She has worked on retirement policy in the Ohio state legislature and has worked on campaigns in Ohio and Utah. During her time working as a senior legislative aide in Ohio, she learned the intricacies of the legislative process, how to craft policy, and what makes good governance. She believes that good collaboration leads to good legislation.

Ariel earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Ohio University, where she and her husband lived while he attended dental school. She is also currently pursuing a second master’s degree, this one in legal studies. In addition to earning a master’s, she worked for the Ohio House of Representatives and when she came back to Utah in 2010, it was with a lot of campaign experience under her belt.

In 2018, the Romney for Senate campaign reached out and asked her to be their Davis County field representative, which she accepted. From there, she joined the Cox for Governor campaign and helped create the “Women for Utah” group that supported Gov. Spencer Cox’s election bid. The group was led by now- first lady Abby Cox, along with Nina Barnes of Iron County, Jeanette Bennett of Utah County and South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey.

Ariel has a passion for state government and believes it has a huge impact on the day-to-day lives of citizens. She takes law classes for fun and her bio reads, “if Leslie Knope were a brunette Republican, she would be me.”