US senatorial candidates make their case at Weber State University debate
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- This combination photo shows Utah’s U.S. Senate candidates, from left, Democrat Caroline Gleich, Republican John Curtis and Carlton Bowen of the Independent American Party during a debate at Weber State University on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Democrat Caroline Gleich speaks during a U.S. Senate debate at Weber State University on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Republican John Curtis speaks during a U.S. Senate debate at Weber State University on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
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- Carlton Bowen of the Independent American Party speaks during a U.S. Senate debate at Weber State University on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
OGDEN — Candidates for Mitt Romney’s soon-to-be-vacated U.S. Senate seat took the stage at Weber State University’s Browning Center Thursday night for a debate organized by the Utah Debate Commission.
Republican U.S. Rep. John Curtis, Democrat Caroline Gleich and Independent American Party candidate Carlton Bowen worked to distinguish themselves for voters throughout the debate, which was moderated by Glen Mills, communications director for the Utah Department of Corrections.
More than anything, Gleich and Bowen attempted to differentiate themselves from Curtis.
To that end, Gleich espoused a need to elect next-generation leaders who reflect “the will of the people” over status-quo politics.
“I’m all about reduce, reuse and recycle, but we cannot keep recycling the same old politicians and expect them to get out of this mess,” Gleich said during her closing statement. “What do you call a politician who has been in office too long? You call them home, and Rep. Curtis, it’s time for you to come home.”
Bowen, meanwhile, brought up Curtis’ past association with the Democratic Party at regular intervals throughout the debate, branding himself as the race’s only “Pro-Trump” candidate.
In response, Curtis spotlighted his legislative record in the U.S. House of Representatives while rebuffing notions that his previous party association warranted an apology or had any bearing on the current race.
The candidates debated a number of issues, including immigration policy, public lands, abortion, the polarization of American politics and more.
On the cost of homes/living in Utah
While Curtis agreed with Bowen’s assessment that housing costs and the cost of living is largely a state/local issue, he noted that the federal government has a role to play with regard to reducing inflation.
“They taught me when I was at BYU that inflation is the result of spending too much money on too few goods, and what are we doing as a federal government? We’re turning on the faucet of spending and we’re putting our neck on the supply chain,” Curtis said.
Curtis also pointed to his HOMES Act and Sen. Mike Lee’s HOUSES Act as measures against the housing crisis.
Gleich called for expanding incentives for first-time homebuyers, addressing homelessness and raising the federal minimum wage.
Public lands
Bowen railed against a perceived abuse of the Antiquities Act, stating his belief that left-leaning administrations have used it to wrest control of public lands away from Utahns and that the law should be rewritten.
“This act has been abused by Presidents Clinton and Obama and others to set aside millions of acres of Utah land,” Bowen said. “Bears Ears is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island, and it wasn’t done with congressional input — it just took President Obama signing.”
Curtis agreed, citing his Emery County Public Land Management Act as an effective legislative check to the Antiquities Act.
Gleich, meanwhile, spoke of the “happiness and healing” she found on Utah’s federally protected public lands. She claimed that the state’s public lands have been besieged by privatization and development efforts.
Political climate/Supreme Court nominations
Gleich expressed hope that Democrats and Republicans could find common ground on issues, citing her experience working under then-environmental advisor Ted Wilson during the administration of Republican Gov. Gary Herbert. She also espoused a need for judicial reform at the Supreme Court level.
“Some of the things that I would do (to preserve checks and balances) are to enact a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices and to enact 18-year Supreme Court justice term limits to ensure these leaders are not being influenced by billionaires, special interest groups or other types of corruption,” Gleich said.
Curtis and Bowen noted that they would lean on the U.S. Constitution to guide the judicial process and the nomination of justices at the federal level.
Said Bowen of the role of the federal government, as determined by the Constitution: “I will note that the U.S. Constitution had very few roles for the federal government. The Founding Fathers established our Constitution basically to provide for national defense and diplomacy.”
Immigration
Bowen called for the federal government to enforce immigration laws already on the books and accused Curtis of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants. Curtis responded by defending his support of the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act and intimating that the issue is a political minefield.
“The reality of it is we have a broken border and we have a broken immigration system. And anybody who puts their neck out and tries to put a plan forward has their neck whacked off by the political extremes,” Curtis said. “You can see why we’re not making progress on this in Washington, D.C. We’ve got to get away from this narrative and, look, we could solve this in an afternoon.”
Gleich opined that more/better resources should be diverted to the agencies charged with securing the border and said that “vetted immigrants” should have a pathway to citizenship. She also bristled against “Trump-era family separation policies.”
Abortion
Gleich made reference to the “unintended consequences” of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, including OBGYNs leaving the profession, women dying during childbirth and perceived attacks on in vitro fertilization, or IVF, in certain U.S. states.
While describing himself as pro-life, Curtis called for a more thoughtful approach to the abortion debate on Capitol Hill.
“Let’s be honest — Republicans tend to talk about the babies, incessantly. Democrats, as a stereotype, tend to talk about the mothers, incessantly. Both of those are important. We’ve got to find a common ground between those,” Curtis said.
Bowen said he was “100%” against abortion, saying that it ends human life “without that human life having any input into it.”
Other issues discussed during Thursday’s debate include foreign policy and the environment. The entire debate can be viewed on the Utah Debate Commission’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrOpzEFzxCg.
