SALT LAKE CITY — Misty Snow, a Utah Democrat who lost her bid to become the first transgender person in Congress in November, will challenge U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart in 2018's midterm elections, she announced on Facebook Wednesday.

Snow, 31, lost to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in November, earning 27 percent of the vote compared to Lee's 68 percent. She says the experience has elevated her profile and made her a better fundraiser and public speaker.

"I learned a lot from the last campaign I ran, and I have a lot of support," Snow said Wednesday evening. "Given the sentiment in the country right now, I think there's a lot of support for Democrats in the midterm election."

Snow believes the election of President Donald Trump has galvanized Democratic voters in overwhelmingly Republican Utah, and points to Trump's national 40 percent approval rating.

She is a Harmon's grocery store cashier who supports LGBT rights, paid maternity leave and raising wages.

Stewart, elected in 2012, is a member of House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee. He was booed at a March town hall meeting at West High School, where he defended Republican positions on health care and other issues.

The 2nd Congressional District encompasses Salt Lake City and the state's western side from Bountiful down to St. George. That includes pieces of rural Utah, extending east to Canyonlands National Park and Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument.

aknox@deseretnews.com