The three candidates vying to win Utah’s open Senate seat being vacated by Romney met for a debate on Thursday night, with the stage featuring Curtis, Democrat Caroline Gleich, and Carlton Bowen, who is running as part of the Independent American Party of Utah. The debate touched on a number of issues throughout the night, including public lands, abortion rights, housing affordability, and more. 

Curtis is believed to be the front-runner as the state is a reliable Republican haven. The last time a Democrat was elected to represent the Beehive State in the Senate was 1970.

Here are the three top takeaways from the debate and key exchanges between the candidates:

1. Curtis defends history as Democratic lawmaker

One of the more animated back-and-forths occurred when Bowen pressed Curtis over his history as a Democratic lawmaker before switching to the Republican Party. 

Curtis ran as a Democratic candidate between 2000 and 2006, launching an unsuccessful bid for the Utah state Senate in 2000 before serving as the vice chairman and chairman of the Utah County Democratic Party between 2002 and 2003. After that, Curtis switched parties and has since identified as a moderate Republican while running for mayor of Provo in 2009 and the House of Representatives in 2017. 

Bowen sought to attack Curtis for his history as a Democrat, which prompted Curtis to push back against the attack several times. 

“If you’re damning somebody because they were once a Democrat, you have to rule out Donald Trump. You have to rule out Ronald Reagan,” Curtis said. 

“Carlton is just bent on this former Democrat thing,” Curtis mentioned later in the debate.
“You know, Utah voters get to decide who represents their values. I’ll point out again that almost half of all Republicans picked me in a four-way Republican primary because I represent their values, and nobody on this stage has known better to the voters.”

2. Candidates spar over public lands and environmental issues

One of the top voter issues in Utah is the control of public lands, with all three candidates offering different solutions to approach the problem. 

Curtis pointed to his work passing the Emery County Public Lands Act in 2018, which dictated how 1.3 million acres of federal land in Utah would be used for recreational purposes as well as agriculture and conservation. By doing that, Curtis argued, Congress could thwart presidents from independently designating national monuments such as Bears Ears, which then-President Barack Obama did in 2016. 

Bowen referenced that action by Obama in his answer, noting he would “rewrite the Antiquities Act” that has been “abused” by several presidents to set aside millions of acres of public land and designate them as federal monuments. Bowen even went so far as to praise former President Donald Trump’s decision to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase monuments during his presidency. 

That was later undone by President Joe Biden. 

Meanwhile, Gleich criticized state lawmakers’ efforts to transfer federal lands to state control in order to sell the land “to the highest bidder for energy development” so state leaders can “line their pockets.”

“This is wrong, and we’ve seen these attacks on the Antiquities Act before, and continuing this attack is a waste of taxpayer dollars,” Gleich said. 

Curtis relies on political experience, while opponents push for change in leadership

Throughout the debate, Curtis relied on and often referenced his work in the House of Representatives, to which he was first elected in 2018. 

At different points throughout the debate, Curtis references his work to pass nearly 20 bills since being elected to Congress as well as his experience on the House China Task Force. 

However, the three-term congressman faced criticism from his opponents over his record, with both Gleich and Bowen suggesting Utah would benefit from fresh leadership representing the Beehive State in Washington, D.C.

“It’s time for the new generation to step up. And if you feel like Utah is headed in this in the wrong direction, we need to ask ourselves a question: What do you call a politician who’s been in office too long? You call them home,” Gleich said. “And Rep. Curtis, it’s time for you to come home and to send the next generation in.”

Bowen repeatedly hit Curtis over his voting record in Congress, arguing he hasn’t done enough to support the conservative movement or side with Trump. 

“I am the only pro-Trump candidate on the ballot,” Bowen said. 

Bowen went on to warn that Curtis may be too similar to his possible predecessor, Romney, who has separated himself from Trump and those from the right wing of his party. 

“Mitt Romney was the only Republican out of the entire House or Senate to vote to impeach Donald Trump in 2020, and I think most Utahns didn’t like that, and I think it was very out of touch with what Utahns expected their U.S. senator to be,” Bowen said. “And I’m concerned that my GOP opponent, who is a former Democrat, will be a Romney 2.0.”