SALT LAKE CITY – Under pressure from northern Utah residents, the Utah Debate Commission (UDC) has announced a change to the schedule of the upcoming 2nd Congressional District debate.
Originally slated on Oct. 20 at Utah State University, the debate between incumbent U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Democratic challenger Peter Crosby of Providence will now take place on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The Crosby campaign had protested the late timing of the Oct. 20 event, coming as the last of the four UDC congressional debates scheduled between late September and late October.
That date would also have been a full week after mail-in ballots had gone out to voters in the 2nd Congressional District.
“This is a win for Utah voters,” according to Crosby, “who deserve to have the opportunity to evaluate each of the candidates in the only public debate currently scheduled before cast their ballots.”
The Crosby campaign had urged its supporters to “respectfully reach out” to the UDC to request that change and expressed gratitude for their efforts in a July 23 press release.
The Utah Debate Commission is a consortium of higher education institution, media organizations, business interests and civic leaders dedicated to creating a non-partisan and independent system of debate among qualified candidates for statewide and federal offices in Utah during each election cycle.
The goal of the Utah Debate Commission is to educate voters about viable candidates and their issues, promote the civil exchange of ideas among leading candidates and elevate the discussion of the most important issues confronting all Utahns.
The revised schedule of the 2nd District debate was also applauded by Brian King, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party.
“Democracy depends on informed voters and accountable candidates,” he emphasized. “By moving this debate to Oct. 13, Utahns wiil have the opportunity to hear directly from both candidates before voting begins.
“That’s good news for voters, good for the electoral process and good for Utah,” King added.
Needless to say, it’s also good news for Crosby, who faces a significant gap in name recognition with his GOP rival.
With a comfortable lead in recent polling, the Moore campaign didn’t object to the change in the debate schedule.
The Democratic challenger is running a grass-roots campaign, relying on some 300 registered volunteers rather accepting support from corporate political action committees.
Other congressional debates being hoisted by the UDC include face-offs between candidates in the court-ordered 1st District on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Salt Lake Community College; in the 3rd District on Friday, Oct. 2 at Utah Tech University; and in the 4th District on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Snow College.