SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Democratic Party praised the performance of Bill Campbell in his debate for the 1st District seat in Congress on Oct. 8.
“Bill Campbell showed himself to be a voice for Utahns over special interests,” said Oscar Mata, the vice-chair of the Democratic Party following the face-off at Utah State University sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission.
“His priority is you,” Mata told the constituents of Utah’s 1st Congressional District.
Mata added that incumbent U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) has abandoned those constituents by consistently voting against President Joe Biden’s agenda, which proposes real solutions to their problems.
“He tried to defend his double-dealing on immigration,” according to Mata, “when the truth is that congressional Republicans blocked a bi-partisan immigration reform bill because (former President) Donald Trump told them to.”
Now in his second term of office, Moore has quickly risen to the upper ranks of House GOP leadership based on a reputation for passing legislation through bi-partisan cooperation. He was elected as vice-chair of the House Republican Conference last November, the seventh-highest ranking post in the House GOP.
During the debate, Moore blamed Biden for running up the national debt by $5 trillion since 2020 and sparking the worst spike in inflation in his lifetime.
Since winning a narrow majority in the House in 2022, Moore said Republicans have put the brakes on the previously ballooning federal budget.
“With that majority,” he added, “we’ve ended Biden’s ability to enact those kind of policies.
“That benefits the residents of the 1st District every single day. I want to ensure that they have a lack of inflationary pressure and a strong economy to look forward to in the next term as well.”
Campbell is a certified public account and former chief financial officer for Autoliv in Ogden.
In 2022, he ran as a Republican against Moore, but was eliminated at the state GOP convention in April of that year.
Even more problematic for Utah Democrats, Campbell has admitted to voting for Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
During the debate, Campbell voiced his own ideas, which often differed from those of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic National Committee. For example, he suggested that the money funding military aid to the Ukraine should have been spend on border security and supported the resumption of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Campbell even sounded like a Republican during the debate, espousing Utah values of family, faith and freedom; protecting America’s interests including voting security, health care and financial accountability; and integrity, business experience and passionate commitment to community involvement.
But Mata continues to pound Moore, while glossing over Campbell’s independent opinions.
“Moore tried to dodge accountability for his failure to deliver for Utahns,” Mata insisted, “from voting against providing critical medical help for veterans to failing to address Utah’s high cost of living.
“I call on residents of the 1st Congressional District to vote for Bill Campbell and other Democrats all the way down the ballot,” he emphasized, “so they can get the representation they deserve.”