Utah's GOP Senate candidates try to out-MAGA each other in a race to the bottom.
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Race to the Bottom
If you've seen any of the political commercials hitting the airwaves, you might wonder who Utah's U.S. Senate candidates are trying to influence. Brad Wilson is taking a sledgehammer to "Biden's Agenda," John Curtis is fighting against Biden's "reckless spending" and Brent Orrin Hatch is trying to out-conservative the rest of the pack. Living in Utah, you know that Joe Biden is a campaign factor only in the "Let's go, Brandon" world and is that really what voters care about? Riverton MAGA Mayor Trent Staggs buys into that thinking and brought in Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz to call Curtis a weakling in the America First fight. The undertone of many of the Senate campaigns is to bury the Mitt Romney moderation and fire up the Trumpian base. Voters should be paying attention to real issues. Eric Peterson on KUER called out Wilson's strong ties to development, and Curtis is actually talking about his accomplishments. Do Republicans care?
Phil the Burn
We don't think he'll be the next governor, but that doesn't mean we should ignore Blanding Republican Rep. Phil Lyman and his pro-beef campaign. He's been sort of conflicted about signature gathering to get the nomination. He did start collecting names, which he compared to "running an option in a football game," but then stopped because "to be honest, I don't believe in the signature path, and I never have. As I said from the beginning, my intent to gather signatures was a backup plan in case there was interference with the caucus." By that, he means he believes Spencer Cox pulled a fast one during COVID and canceled caucuses. Maybe it's all good now. Still, he's using the national GOP playbook, first posting that the Baltimore bridge collapse was a result of DEI, and then saying he didn't actually post that, but he's OK with the idea. After all, diversity, equity and inclusion are far from the Utah Way.
Your Ad Here
Billboards are in the news again, and that's a good thing if only that people are thinking about them. Traditionally, it's been scenic byways vs. the billboard industry. Now a Salt Lake Tribune story points to huge billboards blocking the views from luxury apartments. Say it isn't true! A City Weekly cover story from 2002 recounted the history from the halls of Congress to your backyard, ultimately cementing the industry's control. "In Utah, more so than any other state, billboard companies are free to move, modify and build newer, brighter and taller signs—for almost any reason. They demand huge condemnation payouts when a sign needs to be moved, cut trees to improve visibility of their signs, promote the 'segmentation' of National and State Scenic Byways in order to erect more billboards and contribute huge sums to political campaigns," Scenic Utah writes. The Trib story is a small speck in an otherwise politically influential campaign spanning decades.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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