Blake Moore

Third-party and unaffiliated candidates appear in all four of Utah's congressional districts this fall, though none qualified for official debates and none poll in double digits. Figures like unaffiliated candidates Robert Moesinger and Steven Burt, Libertarian Taylor Wright, Independent American Carlton Bowen and Constitution Party nominee Cassie Easley say they aren't running to win but to challenge the two-party system, push reforms like ranked-choice voting and multi-member districts, and engage disaffected young voters.

Historically, Utah's third-party candidates have drawn minimal support, averaging roughly 2% since 1914, with Evan McMullin a notable exception. Rising unaffiliated voter registration suggests some appetite for alternatives, but it remains unclear whether that will translate into votes for non-major-party candidates this cycle.

Utah's last congressional debate of the cycle took place Tuesday evening in Logan, hosted by the Utah Debate Commission at Utah State University, featuring District 2 candidates Rep. Blake Moore (R) and Peter Crosby (D).

Moore has represented Utah's 1st Congressional District since 2021 but is running in the newly redrawn District 2 following statewide boundary changes. He defeated primary challenger Karianne Lisonbee, a state representative who qualified for the ballot through delegate support at the Utah Republican Convention. Moore previously co-chaired the 2018 Better Boundaries campaign behind Proposition 4, Utah's anti-gerrymandering law, and this year opposed efforts to repeal it via ballot initiative, instead urging a public vote.

Crosby, a northern Utah native and adjunct professor at Utah State University's Center for Anticipatory Intelligence, secured the Democratic nomination at his party's April convention. He previously held leadership roles in a Fortune 500 company after starting his career in customer service.

The debate marked the final event in Utah's series of congressional matchups ahead of the election.

Utah GOP Rep. Mike Kennedy, in an interview with the Deseret News, called Trump's second term historic but gave mixed marks on specific policies. He credited the administration with sharply reducing border crossings but said the effects of mass deportations have been "good and bad," backing removal of convicted criminals while urging case-by-case review for others.

On election security, Kennedy echoed concerns about noncitizen voting ahead of the midterms, citing a New Jersey registration error that added thousands of noncitizens to voter rolls. He supported the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, though it has stalled in the Senate.

Kennedy also sided with Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in her standoff with the Department of Justice, which sued Utah after Henderson declined to turn over voters' Social Security numbers and birth dates. Kennedy said he wants voter records kept confidential and expects the dispute to be resolved in court. The remarks came after Kennedy hosted a meeting of top Utah officials on energy, water, and data center policy.