Utah’s three Republican candidates for U.S. Senator faced off in a Republican debate Wednesday night. The Utah Republican Party held and moderated the debate.
Senator Mike Lee hopes for another six years in office. But two other candidates, Becky Edwards and Ally Isom, gave him a run for his money in Wednesday’s debate. Edwards and Isom accused Lee of partisanship and misrepresentation. Lee, on the other hand, felt that most of Utah’s problems were a result of bad policies from the Biden Administration.
The candidates gave views on a variety of relevant topics to our community. The topics covered in this article include public lands, gun laws and immigration.
What policies should be enacted from the federal level to help lessen the price at the pump and support energy independence and a strong economy in the Mountain West and Utah?
The candidates discussed public lands extensively. As the moderator shared, 63.1% of all Utah land is owned by the federal government. Utahns are missing out on tax money and resources that could be gained from the land.
Mike Lee emphasized that two thirds of Utah’s land is federal land. He said that this is hurting Utah’s economy. Because we cannot use these lands, it is “harder for us to fund everything in Utah, … and harder to produce energy,” he said. He advocated for a hands-off approach from the federal government.
Becky Edwards was quick to blame Congress’s partisanship over this issue. She called the designation of public lands a “ping-pong effect,” allowing the U.S. presidents to take turns pulling back lands and then replacing them. Solutions she cited included looking at “an exception to the Antiquities Act,” and requiring “an approval of the designation” before the federal government takes Utahns off-guard with more changes.
Ally Isom was also quick to blame the government, as well as “career politicians” who she says will say things because they sound good and then never get them done. “We’re being played here,” she said. She compared rural people to pawns in the government’s game. She also blamed the government for turning the dials too far, since energy is “really a matter of supply and demand.” When that supply and demand gets adjusted too much, the gas prices rise.
How do you plan on protecting the state’s energy development, precious metals, mineral extraction, livestock grazing, and recreation from the predation of the federal government?
All candidates expressed disapproval of the Biden Administration’s 30×30 plan. The plan is to have 30% of the country’s land protected by 2030.
Becky Edwards said, “30×30 is really problematic because it addresses … our energy needs in all the wrong ways.” She emphasized that we can acknowledge climate change while still taking advantage of the natural resources in Utah. She proudly stated, “I passed the first piece of legislation in a Republican state that acknowledged climate change.” She added that one of the best ways to help Utah is to support SITLA.
Ally Isom added her support for SITLA. She also said that “the incentives need to be in the right places” for energy development to work the way it should. She shared frustration from rural commissioners throughout the state who felt that their needs were not being heard at the federal level: “They need a voice in Washington D.C. that speaks for them,” she said.
Mike Lee gave President Biden all the blame for the state’s energy issues. “Joe Biden did this,” he said over and over again. He pointed out that Utah’s “wealth isn’t just created.” In fact, “all wealth has to be mined, … grown or manufactured,” and the government isn’t allowing this to happen.
What can you do as a member of the Senate to help streamline and expedite the legal immigration policy of this country?
Ally Isom called immigration policies “a hot mess.” She gave a number of solutions for this “hot mess.” “The first thing we have to do is secure the border,” she said. She added that immigration should be expedited and simplified. Part of this process would include talking about the bureaucracy that handles immigration. Isom accused both sides of “politicizing this for gain.”
Mike Lee agreed that “our legal immigration system is broken.” He emphasized that we want the immigrants here — we depend on them — but we want them here legally. He once again expressed his frustration with Joe Biden. Lee called Biden an “open doors president.” “Every time we have an open borders president,” he said, “it gets tougher.”
Becky Edwards added her bipartisanship argument: “It’s not okay to continue to say this is the problem of one party.” She felt that there were “ineffective and absent Republican leaders on this issue” as well as Democrats. “The problem continues to be congress that will not do its job,” Edwards said.
Do you support the funding and completion of the wall? Why or why not? What should a strong border policy look like in your view?
All three candidates supported completion of the wall — for Lee, “emphatically, yes.” But all three added caveats saying there is more to do than just build a wall. They reiterated plans to expedite the immigration process and secure the border in other ways. Isom and Edwards even mentioned a need to encourage democracy in other countries in order to secure our own.
Do you believe that banning certain weapons will stop events like this from happening in the future? And what can we do to protect our children in schools while maintaining our right to bear arms?
The tragic Uvalde shooting has everyone talking about gun laws. Everyone agrees that something needs to be done, but the truth is we don’t know where the problem is coming from. The candidates offered possible solutions.
Becky Edwards was a strong supporter of the right to own guns. She shared how strongly she felt about both the second amendment and firearm safety. She said, “It is possible to support the second amendment and have conversations around firearm safety. We do not have to choose one or the other. It is not that type of a decision.” She supported background checks and mental health services.
Ally Isom supported getting mental health services available to all families. She cited multiple causes for the shooting in Uvalde: “We know that a family broke down. … We know that law enforcement didn’t pursue [the shooter] fast enough.” She gave her support for red flag laws, but added, “But show me one that works.”
Mike Lee wanted to tackle the issue of gun violence through social media. He felt this issue was “a whole lot more about our social fabric” than about taking away guns. He also lamented a “fraying of some of our fundamental institutions in society.” His possible solution was to make social media platforms report suspicious activity to authorities.
More about the debate
The candidates shared similar views on many topics (they are all Republicans). But their execution and experience differ.
The debate also fielded questions on food supply, the Roe v. Wade leak, election fraud, ESG scores and inflation, which were not covered in this article.
Watch the entire Republican debate here.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: Mike Lee greeting the candidates during the initial debate for Republican senator. June 2022. Courtesy Trent Nelson/Salt Lake Tribune.