As a civilian intelligence officer employed by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, candidate for the 1st Congressional District seat Andrew Badger volunteered to serve in Afghanistan.
LOGAN – “The decisions being made here in Washington by President Biden and congressional Democrats are creating negative outcomes for every, single American,” according to U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-District 1).
“And (Republicans) have pushed back on every atrocious domestic and foreign policy.”
Those comments came Thursday evening at a meet-and-greet with candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District seat hosted by delegates from Cache and Box Elder counties.
Four of the five Republican candidates for that seat were in attendance.
They were former intelligence officer Andrew Badger; Ogden businessman William Campbell; former Morgan county commissioner Tina Cannon; and, Vineyard Mayor Julie Fullmer.
The incumbent Moore, who was flying back to Utah, attended by video clips.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” Moore said, “I was pleased to see the Supreme Court step in and see our government push back on executive over-reach.”
But Cannon cried “foul” on that.
“He said that he was proud of the Supreme Court for pushing back on federal over-reach,” Cannon argued. “No, they’re not! People had to sue in order for those rulings to happen. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
“It’s important that we have a representative who actually understands … that the Supreme Court doesn’t just ‘step in.’ There’s a process here and you ought to understand that if you’re a representative.”
Badger said he’s focused on three priorities as a candidate: making the United States energy independent, doing more to secure the U.S.- Mexican border and strengthening the U.S. military.
“We’ve got to get on offense and drive the legislative agenda,” he said. “The reason I’m running is that I think our country is under stress. We’re under crisis. Status quo is not acceptable … We need to dismantle the federal government and get power back to the state government.”
Badger’s prime target is the U.S. Department of Education, which he said has a $700 million budget and 4,000 employees doing what the states need to be doing.
Fullmer said that she knows what it means to take heat for her decisions, because she kept Vineyard open when the rest of the state was closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We need people, not just desiring to do good, but with experience to get the job done,” she added. “We need a representative that will listen, knows what it means to serve in a district, defend our values and stand up for the Constitution when it really matters.”
As an advocate for managed growth and conservative values, Fullmer said that she is eager to meet with constituents in the 1st District.
“I think that the federal government has lost our trust,” according to Campbell. “To restore that trust, I’ve committed to not accepting any donations, not accepting any financial conflicts.”
As a chief financial officer for Autoliv, Campbell bases his campaign on providing fiscal responsibility, focused government and strong leadership.
“The purpose of a representative is to serve you, not myself, not the governor and not any special interests.
“My decisions are based on four guiding principles: family, faith, life and liberty.”
As an accountant, Cannon’s campaign is focused on the harsh reality of dollars and cents.
“I spend this time of year sitting across the desk looking at people who have to send their hard-earned money to the federal and the state government,” she said. “And we both know that it could be used better here at home.”
“We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem,” Cannon added. “Too many times, we think that we have to raise taxes to raise revenue. That’s not what you do. You expand the economy to raise revenue.
“When the people do better, the government collects more money.”
The GOP candidates for the 1st District seat will face off against Moore on April 23 in the Utah Republican nominating convention.