Candidates took the stage at Salt Lake Community College for Utah governor debate

Salt Lake City, Utah – On Wednesday night, the candidates vying for Utah’s governorship debated on the stage at Salt Lake Community College.

The Democratic Party’s nominee, state representative Brian King, Republican incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox, and Libertarian candidate J. Robert Latham engaged in a heated debate covering a wide range of topics, including power, housing, education, transportation, and many more.
Politicians became agitated and began disparaging one another on two specific issues.

Everyone is keeping an eye on Amendment D while a judge determines whether or not to place it on the ballot in November. A decision on citizen ballot initiatives made by the Utah Supreme Court would be overruled under Amendment D.

“This is deceptive, it’s deceitful, and it something that every Utahn should come out to the polls in November and vote against,” said Rep. Brian King.

Latham answered, “Representative King is right.” “The language that President Stuart Adams and Speaker Mike Schultz put on there is deceitful.”

It wasn’t evident what Cox thought of the amendment until after the press conference.

Overall, I believe it’s near enough to warrant endorsement. “I understand why some people are against it,” he replied.

The presidential election was another topic that sparked agitation among candidates.

“Our current governor for years went ahead and said openly, I though commendable, that he was not going to support Donald Trump,” added King. “Then we see two months ago, a flip.”

“I have committed my life to bringing our nation closer together. I’m going to do everything I can to help [Trump], to help my party, to help Democrats, to help us come together,” stated Cox.

“What I heard is the gaslighting that we’ve been used to. The Utahns that are excluded from this discourse,” stated Latham. “That’s responsible for why I’m on this stage.”

There are additional candidates on the ticket who did not debate Wednesday night because they did not fit the Utah Debate Commission’s polling standards.

Candidates featured on the ballot but not in the debate are Tommy Williams (Independent American Party) and Tom Tomeny (Unaffiliated). According to Ballotpedia, there are three people running as write-in candidates: Phil Lyman, Richard Lyman and Charlie Tautuaa.