Democrat Bill Campbell, Libertarian Daniel Cottam and Republican Rep. Blake Moore listen to moderator Natalie Gochnour as she asks a question during the Utah Debate Commission’s 1st Congressional District debate at the Eccles Conference Center on Utah State University’s campus on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by Kelly Winter for Utah News Dispatch)
Candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District tackled a number of issues on the debate stage Tuesday, but among the key, underlying themes was federal spending and the country’s increasing debt.
Rep. Blake Moore, the incumbent Republican, took on Democrat Bill Campbell and Libertarian Daniel Cottam during a rollercoaster debate, where candidates lashed out at each other before ending the night with handshakes and accolades.
Moore, who sits on both the House Budget and Ways and Means committees, has made federal spending a priority since taking office in 2021. Now vying for his third term in Congress, Moore linked many of the questions to federal spending — issues like housing, even mental health, could be improved if Congress reigns in the government’s pursestrings and limits inflation.
Republican Rep. Blake Moore answers a question during a debate at the Eccles Conference Center on Utah State University’s campus on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by Kelly Winter for Utah News Dispatch)
While Moore and the rest of House Republicans were in the minority during President Joe Biden’s first two years, the president “enacted 5 trillion net new dollars of government spending. We immediately saw the worst inflation that we’ve seen in, at least, my lifetime.”
Now, with House Republicans clinging to a narrow majority, Moore said the party has “eliminated” Biden and the rest of the Democrats’ ability to enact expensive policies.
“That directly affects 1st District residents every single day. And I want to be in a position to make sure that they have the lack of inflationary pressure and a strong economy,” Moore said during his opening remarks.
Campbell, a former chief financial officer for Autoliv, an automotive safety supplier, agreed that fiscal management was “out of control.” But rather than levy blame at one party, Campbell said both Republicans and Democrats were responsible. Moore claimed that Congress doesn’t vote on the entire budget each year and instead focuses on smaller appropriations — Campbell, in response, called that claim “bullshit.”
“When he talks about legislation not coming up for consideration, he is on the committee that actually is responsible for bringing up that legislation. So you’re on the committee, you’re choosing not to bring forth any votes,” said an irritated Campbell, who has run against Moore before, but in the GOP primary.
Moore, in response, said Campbell’s tone “doesn’t reflect any experience that I’ve ever had with him.” Campbell, later on in the debate, apologized for his comments, telling the audience they were made out of frustration that Congress isn’t making any progress on issues like spending.
Democrat Bill Campbell speaks during the Utah Debate Commission’s 1st Congressional District debate at the Eccles Conference Center on Utah State University’s campus on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by Kelly Winter for Utah News Dispatch)
Cottam, a surgeon who was previously a Republican, then a Democrat, used the exchange to tout the Libertarian Party as a solution to gridlock and an ineffective Congress, which he said has resulted in a growing deficit.
“How many times do you want to run the broken record?” he said. “Again, spending has increased under Democrats and Republicans at equal amounts, and when they’ve been in control of the House, Senate and the White House, it’s the same as it is when the Democrats are in control. There is no difference. Their priorities are different, but the spending is the same.”
According to an estimate released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office, the country’s federal deficit — which happens when the government’s spending exceeds its revenues — rose to $1.8 trillion during the 2024 fiscal year. That’s up from $1.7 trillion during 2023.
Meanwhile, the country’s national debt is nearing $36 trillion, while both presidential candidates are putting forward policy proposals that could tack on trillions more.
Moore called the budget one of the most important issues and throughout the debate kept falling back on the subject, eventually annoying one of his challengers in another testy exchange.
After all candidates finished their responses to a question from debate moderator Natalie Gochnour, Moore asked if he “could talk a little bit more about the deficit.” He was abruptly cut off by Cottam, who turned to the incumbent and told him, “No, you’ve got to stop. This is not a free-for-all for you. This is our debate, too. You need to cut it off!”
Libertarian candidate Daniel Cottam responds to Republican Rep. Blake Moore during the Utah Debate Commission’s 1st Congressional District debate at the Eccles Conference Center on Utah State University’s campus on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo by Kelly Winter for Utah News Dispatch)
During the night, candidates touched on a number of other issues — Gochnour asked about sending aid to Ukraine and Israel, with all candidates agreeing that the U.S. should support its allies.
Both Moore and Cottam cited the Budapest Memorandum, a 1994 agreement in which the U.S. vowed to protect Ukraine if it gave up its nuclear arsenal. Campbell said the federal government should scale back some of its military aid and instead spend it on things like border security, but he said the U.S. should still help bolster Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.
On immigration, candidates all agreed reform was needed, but differed on the approach. Moore said he opposed a bipartisan border security bill that failed earlier this year after former President Donald Trump lobbied against it — Moore argued it was incomplete, and needed a provision reinstating the “remain in Mexico” policy and ending what he called “catch and release,” where undocumented migrants are let into the community rather than being detained while they await immigration proceedings.
Campbell agreed the bill wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. Its failure was a “travesty,” hurting Americans, and burdening public schools, the health care system and courts, he said.
And Cottam said the country needs “a big wall and a big door that opens both ways,” referring to a Libertarian approach to immigration that increases work visas and legal pathways, but cracks down on illegal border crossings.
Despite the debate taking a contentious turn at times, it ended with candidates saying something nice about each other — Cottam said Moore has “the best looking family I’ve seen on the internet in a long time,” while Campbell has a very informative website.
Moore said he appreciates the work Cottam does as a surgeon, and congratulated Campbell on his career at Autoliv while telling the audience they’ve built a friendship over the years.
And Campbell said he has “the greatest respect” for both candidates, apologizing again for his language earlier in the debate.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.