SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Four Utah Republicans vying for the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney will face off Monday night in a debate that could begin to gauge the type of conservative voters have. appeals most to the entire state.
The big event in a marathon week of primary debates will test former President Donald Trump’s broad influence in Utah, one of the few red states that has hesitated to embrace him. Trump’s day of endorsing a little-known mayor helped the local official win the party nomination over nearly a dozen contenders at the April convention.
Romney has long been the face of the party’s more moderate wing, and his retirement from the Senate opens a door for candidates further to the right. Observers are closely watching to see whether voters choose a successor whose politics align more with Romney’s or with Utah’s other U.S. senator, Trump supporter Mike Lee.
Although moderate U.S. Rep. John Curtis is considered the favorite for the June 25 primary, congressional winner Trent Staggs and former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, another Trump supporter, could shape Utah’s politics in the post-Romney era can push further to the right.
Curtis, Wilson and businessman Jason Walton had already guaranteed their spots on the primary ballot by collecting signatures before the convention and will be joined at the debate by Staggs.
Staggs, 49, built his base by calling up state GOP delegates and winning the support of Trump and many of his allies across the country. The mayor of Riverton, a suburb south of Salt Lake City, was the first candidate to enter the Senate race, even before Romney announced he would not seek re-election. Staggs’ victory at the convention may not translate into success at the ballot box, as Republican Party nominations have historically had little influence on Utah voters’ decisions.
Curtis has been compared to Romney for opposing hardliners in his party, especially on climate change, but he has distanced himself from the retiring senator while campaigning for his seat. The 63-year-old Republican congressman and former mayor of Provo began his political career as a county-level official with the Democratic Party. He is now the longest-serving member of Utah’s U.S. House delegation and has cast himself as the only candidate who already understands the inner workings of Capitol Hill.
Wilson, who has the backing of Gov. Spencer Cox and other top officials, emphasizes that he has already had the greatest impact on Utahns as the state’s legislative leader. As speaker of the House of Representatives, he oversaw years of tax cuts and budget negotiations that he says will help him combat federal overspending. Wilson, 55, has touted plans to ease federal regulations that he says are hampering local officials who detain immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
The winner of the Republican Senate primary will face Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountain climber and environmental activist, in November. Utah has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1970.
The Republican Senate debate is one of three taking place in Utah on Monday. The candidates for two of the state’s four congressional seats will debate earlier in the day. Candidates for governor, attorney general and Curtis’ open seat in the U.S. House face off Tuesday and Wednesday.
