The 28th Utah Territorial Legislature met in 1888. The regular election for the Territorial Council and the House of Representatives was held August 1, 1887. Earlier in the year, the Edmunds-Tucker Act had further overhauled elections in the territory, disenfranchising women voters (most of whom were Mormon) and requiring that men registering to vote take an oath that they would obey anti-bigamy laws (in particular, the earlier Edmunds Act of 1882). The territory was also reapportioned into new electoral districts.
The legislative session convened on January 9, 1888, in Salt Lake City, and ended on March 11, 1888.
In a possible attempt at subterfuge during the election, at Park City in District 7 there was an independent ticket circulating which matched the Liberal ticket except that it substituted a different candidate for the House in place of David C. McLaughlin. While McLaughlin still won the seat, a saloon debate over the matter resulted in a man being shot and killed.