Meet Rudy Bautista, Democratic candidate for Utah attorney general

Editor’s note: This is one of a series of stories profiling the candidates running for attorney general in Utah this year. Read more about Republican candidate Derek Brown here. A story on third-party candidates Michelle Quist and Andrew McCullough will be published in the coming days.
Tawni Bugden is a defense attorney who has known Rudy Bautista, Democratic candidate for Utah attorney general, for over 25 years. The two met working at a public defense office and since then, Bugden said she’s watched Bautista be in trial week after week, fighting for his clients in trial.
“He cares about people and justice,” said Bugden. “He always fights for the underdog.”
Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike have praise for Bautista, describing him as someone who is fair and who they could trust. Tim Taylor, a prosecutor in Utah, said, “Rudy is one of the most competent defense attorneys that I’ve dealt with.”
Taylor described Bautista as the kind of lawyer who knows where the fight is at. “He doesn’t spend a lot of time wasting his energy and resources on collateral issues that, at the end of the day, don’t amount to a big deal.”
Though as a prosecutor Taylor is on the other side of the courtroom as Bautista, he said Bautista was always fair and if he told him something, Taylor said he could trust Bautista’s word.
A longtime defense attorney, Bautisa said he is an advocate and a fighter — something he said started from an early age. Several months into the attorney general’s race, Bautista has not accepted a single donation during his run. A September poll from the Utah Debate Commission shows Bautista trails Republican candidate Derek Brown in a field that includes Michelle Quist (United Utah Party), Andrew McCullough (Libertarian) and Austin Hepworth (unaffiliated). The seat is open as Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes did not run for reelection.
Bautista said he’s running for attorney general to stand up for the voiceless and the forgotten.
When Bautista was 7 months old, he said his father died and his mother had to go to work. She worked as an administrative assistant at the Los Angeles Police Department. He grew up in Cypress Park which he described as “riddled with crime and property.”
Bautista recalled running from gang members and going behind their fence, asking them to leave. One day they came with a gun and shot his brother’s motorcycle. Bautista remembered calling the police and asking them to hurry. Three-and-a-half hours later, the police arrived.
“Right there and then as a fourth grader, I learned we must defend ourselves. We must be able to depend on ourselves,” said Bautista.
When Bautista was only 10 years old, he watched the Iranian hostage crisis on the news and decided he would defend the country. When it came time for school, he went to the United States Merchant Marine Academy and served his country.
After serving in the military, Bautista earned his law degree from Brigham Young University and became a defense attorney. In legal circles, Bautista has a reputation as a defense attorney who takes on tough cases including murder trials.
His 2024 run for attorney general isn’t his first. Back in 2020, Bautista ran as a Libertarian Party candidate for the office. He said he knew his chances of prevailing under the Libertarian ticket were “slim to none” but he had another point he wanted to get across.
“I really wanted to challenge Sean Reyes and point out all the problems I was aware of as a defense attorney,” said Bautista. This time, he ran as a Democratic Party candidate and said he is turning down donations. When he was at a campaign event, he recalls telling a group of people, “I would love your vote, but you can keep your money. You’ve earned it.”
Bautista said he believes, especially when inflation is high, people who work for their money should be able to keep it.
If Bautista is elected as attorney general, he said his top priority would be to represent the people. With regards to Amendment D and recent laws passed by the Utah Legislature, Bautista said he thinks both the governor and the legislature have overstepped their constitutional authority.
When asked which laws he thought were unconstitutional, Bautista said, “We have all these laws that are coming out, for example, indicating that people only can use restrooms based on their biological birth.” He said laws on the books designed to protect privacy should be enough.
As attorney general, Bautista said he understands his job would be to give his client options and educate them on what is ethical and legal.
“I think we’ve seen too much of attorneys general and too much of the public wanting to know what our personal views are,” said Bautista. “And while they might want to know our personal views to see whether they share beliefs with us, the reality is we need an attorney who understands their duty is only to the public.”
From his 25 years practicing in criminal law, Bautista said he’s heard horror stories of pharmaceutical companies charging several times over what the cost of making the drug is. He said as attorney general, this would be something he’d address.
He also said he would not defend unconstitutional laws if he’s elected.
“We have seen time after time throughout history that laws are passed that are later found to be unconstitutional,” said Baustisa. “We shouldn’t just be following the legislature.” Saying he believes many of the lawmakers may have good intentions, the candidate says many lawmakers are not lawyers and could inadvertently not be following the Constitution.
Giving Utah’s school voucher program as an example, Bautista says he agrees with the teacher’s union and believes “whenever we take money away from the public (school system), we’re hurting the public.”
If elected, he said he would seriously consider entering the default judgment on behalf of the Utah’s teacher unions. He said he thinks the money used for vouchers would be better spent given to teachers who stay after school to tutor students.
When lawmakers pass unconstitutional laws and laws that hurt the public, Bautista said, “The attorney general has an obligation and a commitment to the public to stand up and tell them they’re wrong.”
Bautista also is open to scaling back on some of the lawsuits filed by the office. He said his understanding is federal lands have been open to the public. But if there were instances of farmers being denied access to land, he would fight to maintain their way of life. He said he thinks Utah is not entitled to federal lands — “all I see is an attempt to increase our tax base.”
“We can advocate with the federal government to maybe allow us to have more access to it,” said Bautista. “But what I believe this all is just a money grab that’s being fueled by corporate greed.”
Those who have known Bautista for several years describe him as a personable, honest and hardworking person.
When Alen Maric immigrated to the U.S. from Bosnia, he met Bautista just a few months later. The two were working at a car dealership while Bautista was going to law school.
“It’s not easy to immigrate to a country and find friends, especially somebody like Rudy, who is willing to help you, doesn’t matter at what time of day you call him,” said Maric.
Bautista helped Maric with his English and with job at the car dealership, said Maric. The two have kept in touch during the decades since. He said he credits some of his success to Bautista because he’s always been able to count on him.
While some Utahns may not always agree with Bautista’s political views, Maric said Utah could benefit from Bautista because he’s “always going to do what the right thing is.”
“Rudy is an incredible, likeable guy,” said Andrew Deesing, a former Salt Lake prosecutor. “He’s got a way about him that even if you’re on the opposite side of an issue, you still want to hang out with the guy, which is a unique trait for lawyers.”
Deesing said Bautista is the kind of man who takes young defense lawyers under his wing and gives them pointers. “But he also had this knack of giving advice to prosecutors.” He said it was kind of like someone in Congress going across the aisle to give advice.
After losing a contentious case to Bautista, Deesing recalls Bautista giving him a call afterward (which he said is unusual). He described Bautista as kind in that interaction.
Deesing recounted Bautista telling him to not internalize it and that while they take a lot of pride in their jobs, it’s not who we are.
“I think that’s a valuable perspective to give a lawyer, especially since he’s got some years on me,” said Deesing. He said because of who Bautista is, he’s exactly what the office could use.
Bugden said Bautista is “a salt of the earth” person.
“He is always anonymously helping people in need and he’s very generous when he does that,” said Bugden. She described him as a champion for pets and said on his birthday, in lieu of gifts, he will ask people to donate to an organization for pets in need.
Utah could use Bautista because he’s a leader, Bugden said. He works hard and isn’t in it for himself.
“He is not interested in accolades, honors or awards unlike many in his profession,” she said. “He qualifies for many awards but he is not interested in them. He doesn’t seek fame or recognition, he’s very humble. It’s the same with his generosity, it’s always generous and anonymous.”