SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Debate Commission has announced the schedule of its debates leading up to statewide Republican Primary Election on Tuesday, June 25.
The UDC expects to have a full slate of candidates for state and federal offices who will enthusiastically participate in those events, according to Becky Edwards, the co-chair of the UDC.
A total of 13 GOP candidates in the running for seats representing Congressional Districts 1, 2 and 3 have signaled their intent to debate, along with five hopefuls in the races for governor and attorney general.
The UDC announcement on Wednesday, May 15 included the dates and times of the face-offs, along with the scheduled moderators for each event.
Three of those debates are scheduled for Monday, June 10.
The first of those events will feature the candidates for the Utah’s Congressional District 2 – Incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and challenger Colby Jenkins – at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 10. That debate will be moderated by Rod Arquette.
At 2 p.m. that same day, the candidates for Utah’s Congressional District 1 will face off. They are incumbent Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) and challenger Paul Miller. That event will be moderated by Julie Rose.
The four-way race to replace outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in Washington will be featured in the debate scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 10. In the running for that post are Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), Mayor Trent Staggs, former Utah House speaker Brad Wilson and Jason Walton. The event will be moderated by Glen Mills.
On Tuesday, June 11, the candidates in the running for the post of attorney general will face off in a debate scheduled for 2 p.m. They are Derek Brown, Frank Mylar and Rachel Terry. This event also will be moderated by Mills.
Later that day, the candidates in Utah’s gubernatorial race will debate in an event moderated by Caroline Ballard. They are incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox and challenger Phil Lyman. That event is slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11.
Finally, candidates in the crowded race for Congressional District 3 will face off in a debate scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12. They are J.R. Bird, John Dougall, Mike Kennedy, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay. That event will be moderated by Thomas Wright.
The UDC debates will be broadcast live on major networks, including ABC (Channel 4), FOX (Channel 13), KSL (Channel 5), KUTV (Channel 2) and PBS Utah (Channel 7), as well as online on those network’s websites.
Here in Cache Valley, the UDC debates will also be carried live on KVNU on 102.1 FM / 610 AM and streamed live on kvnutalk.com.
UDC partisan debates for the November general election are slated to begin in late September.