Throughout October, candidates for Utah’s congressional delegation, four house seats and one senate seat, debated at events sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission, a non-partisan group dedicated to getting candidates on stage to showcase themselves and their ideas to voters.
Rep. John Curtis (R) and challenger Glenn Wright (D), running for the U.S. House District 3 seat, appeared at Brigham Young University on Oct. 6. The third district encompasses Draper, Holladay, Heber City, Provo, Orem, and stretches south to Moab and the state’s southeast corner.
As part of The Globe’s 2022 midterm election coverage, views from both candidates about topics most important to Salt Lake Community College students are compiled below. Topics covered include inflation, abortion, global warming and the national divide.
Current levels of inflation
Wright said one way to mitigate the pains of inflation on individuals is through federal action, pointing to price negotiation of pharmaceuticals for those receiving Medicare as an example.
In the long term, Wright said he believes that removing United States dependency on oil, particularly foreign oil, will also help.
“We need to divorce ourselves from our reliability on it,” Wright said. “By electrifying our transportation, we will decrease the price of oil for everyone and we will make ourselves independent of the petrol despots around the world.”
Curtis said that reducing federal spending could curb inflation.
“In Washington, we’re putting way too much money into the economy and we’re overregulating businesses, so that the free markets can’t get goods there,” Curtis said.
Curtis added that the federal government is spending too much at “every turn,” specifying stimulus payments and student loan forgiveness as examples.
When do you feel there is an appropriate limitation on abortion?
Curtis did not directly answer the question, though he reiterated that he is “unapologetically pro-life,” and said the U.S. Supreme Court did not ban abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade. (The overturn of Roe removed federal protections on abortion.)
Curtis added that while “it stinks that most [representatives] of these legislatures are men” and wished it were otherwise, he said he believes the issue of abortion should still fall on state legislatures.
Wright said fetus viability, which tends to occur at 23 or 24 weeks, “is a very reasonable place to put restrictions on abortion.” More broadly on abortion, Wright went on to speak out against the overturn of Roe.
“I think the Dobbs decision (which lead to the overturn of Roe) … was an egregious error,” Wright said. “It has allowed states with very reactionary legislatures like our own to put incredible disabilities on women [who are pregnant] and want to terminate for whatever reason.”
Wright expressed concern over how state abortion laws may affect healthcare, saying he’s spoken with doctors who worry about the legal implications of treating women who come into the emergency room.
“We’ve seen many cases like this across the U.S. already … If I go to Congress I will vote to codify the Roe and Casey decisions,” Wright said.
What is your position on climate change and global warming?
Curtis said he differs from many in his party because he wants to see more climate action. He said he believes that addressing climate change does not have to come at the expense of Americans.
“We don’t need to sacrifice energy independence,” Curtis said. “We don’t need to sacrifice affordable and reliable prices … [to] address these issues.”
Wright gave his Republican opponent a thumbs up.
“I agree with several things Rep. Curtis just said, and I salute his efforts to bring in a conservative climate caucus.”
Wright said by electrifying transportation and heating, while adding more renewable energies, energy independence does not have to be surrendered, but he added that the U.S. must be more forceful in pushing these technologies forward.
“I think we have to have hard goals that we are forced to meet,” Wright said.
What approach would you take to heal our national divide as it relates to political speech?
Wright answered that removing gamesmanship from political speech can help to heal the divide between Americans who disagree.
“I think it’s important not to make a bunch of cheap sound bites, not to call your opponent’s names or belittle them … You don’t start that dialogue by calling somebody a nasty name,” Wright said.
Wright added that a healthy dialogue with a shared understanding of issues is the key to making progress.
“Some people are never going to agree with me on a lot of issues but most people can agree on what the problems are,” Wright said. “We may not agree on solutions, but that is where we have to have a dialogue and figure out how to get things done.”
Curtis said it’s important to remember that those he disagrees with are his colleagues, and added that he believes he has done what he can to maintain relationships while in Congress.
“I’m proud of my record back in Washington D.C. of working with my colleagues on all sides of an issue, and likewise I find in return that same kindness,” Curtis said.
More information about both candidates, including full platforms, can be found on their respective websites: Rep. John Curtis, Glenn Wright. The full debate can be found on the Utah Debate Commission’s YouTube channel.
