U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, who hails from Utah’s 4th Congressional District, said Vice President Kamala Harris — the likely Democratic nominee for president — is “the greatest example of DEI,” Punchbowl News reported.
“For those who believe in DEI,” he continued, “this is exactly what DEI is like. Kamala Harris.”
DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion — a framework implemented in some workplaces, schools and other institutions that is meant to promote fair treatment of historically underrepresented groups.
Such efforts have come under attack by the political right in recent years with claims that it gives people from backgrounds that have previously been discriminated against an advantage, and it has at times been used to minimize accomplishments of people with such roots.
The comments by Owens — Utah’s only Black member of Congress — went beyond those made by many of Utah’s other top Republicans.
Gov. Spencer Cox shared comments from podcaster Jason Calacanis saying, “Republicans looking really low class with personal attacks [on] Kamala — a stupid strategy, from a group that has run a masterclass with Trump 2.0.” Calacanis added that it would be a better strategy for the GOP to recognize her as a “savvy, lifelong politician” who they take seriously.
Sen. Mike Lee, however, who often uses the platform X to criticize more moderate members of his party and Democrats, has speculated — without proof — that Harris was part of a long-running conspiracy to put her name on the ballot without having to go through a primary election.
“Kamala Harris knew it’d be difficult for her to win an actual primary,” Lee wrote in a lengthy series of posts. “The Democratic Party knew their best chance would be to circumvent a primary. The convenience of a coronation with no real chance for any opposition is on full display.”
Harris is slated to be the first Black and South Asian woman to win a major party’s nomination for president. At a Park City fundraiser last month, she described herself as “evidence of the promise of America,” according to a video recording obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.
Before serving as vice president, Harris spent four years in the U.S. Senate and six years as California’s attorney general.
Democratic delegates are expected to select her at their convention in Chicago next month, to which the Utah Democratic Party is sending 34 people to represent the state. Utah’s delegates have welcomed her as their presumptive nominee for president, with the state’s national delegates convening Monday night and agreeing to unanimously back Harris’ campaign.
In a statement announcing the delegation’s endorsement, Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis said, “Kamala Harris is the most qualified candidate to lead our country for the next four years.”
She continued, “Her background as a criminal prosecutor makes her the perfect candidate to defeat Donald Trump, a convicted felon and twice-impeached ex-President. With MAGA Republicans attacking abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, social security, medicaid, and our country’s democratic institutions, this election is the most important of my lifetime.”