The June primary is just two weeks away, and a few races have made it a big election.
One of those is the contest for Utah’s 1st Congressional District. After nearly two decades, Republican Rep. Rob Bishop won’t be seeking re-election, and the seat is up for grabs.
Two Democrats and four Republicans will be on the primary ballot on June 30.
Beside her campaign for Utah’s 1st Congressional District, you may have heard of Republican candidate Katie Witt because of her support of a concert. The mayor of Kaysville welcomed a group of people opposed to shutting down business during the coronavirus pandemic to host a country music concert in a city park.
The concert moved somewhere else, but the Kaysville City Council censured Witt for her actions. Witt said she was just fighting for the group’s Constitutional rights.
“I don't care if I'm a mayor, if I'm a Congress member or if I'm just an individual in our community, I'm going to do that,” Witt said.
Witt has boiled down her campaign to three goals: preserving freedom, reigniting patriotism and expanding opportunity. She said she’s most excited about that last one. Witt said she wants to expand job and health care opportunities by increasing access to high-speed internet, particularly in Utah’s rural areas.
“If they have really great internet and people can live in the rural communities, raise their kids in a great family-centric environment, I think it's going to make a big difference,” she said.
Witt also wants to be accessible to constituents and local leaders. She said she’s thought about that a lot during the pandemic and has hosted virtual town halls and other events. Witt said she wants to keep that line of communication open.
“It gives us the opportunity to meet with — face to face — our constituents,” she said. “That's something that I hope to be able to do on a pretty frequent basis.”
To solidify her position as the conservative in the race, Witt has been open about her support for President Donald Trump, though she wished “he didn’t tweet so much.”
Twitter habits aside, Witt said she supports Trump’s removal of rules and regulations, his anti-abortion stance and his strategy for dealing with China.
“President Trump gets it, he understands that and I think that he is the best person to continue this fight.”
Last month, the American Conservative Union endorsed Witt, saying she’d be a “champion” for conservatives in the first congressional district.
To learn more about Witt’s positions — and to compare them to her three Republican opponents — check out KUER’s voter guide.
Emily Means covers politics for KUER. Follow her on Twitter @Em_Means13
