‘Our public lands are under attack’: Candidates spar over climate, federal overreach in U.S. Senate debate

Candidates vying for a seat in the U.S. Senate disagreed over the best way to manage public lands Thursday night, with Democratic nominee Caroline Gleich criticizing Utah’s efforts to take over control of federal lands as a means to sell the land to the highest bidder and for state leaders to “line their pockets.”

Republican nominee U.S. Rep. John Curtis touted his work to pass the Emery County Public Lands Act, which defined how 1.3 million acres of federal land would be used for recreation, extraction, agriculture and conservation. That kind of congressional action, Curtis said, is how to deter future presidents from designating national monuments — like the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments.

And Carlton Bowen, an Independent American Party candidate, wants to rewrite the Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the power to designate those monuments and praised former President Donald Trump for shrinking both the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase monuments. They were later restored by President Joe Biden.

The state is currently asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case demanding that the federal government turn over management of 18.5 million acres of public land to the state — an argument that the state has made several times without success.

“Right now, our public lands are under attack, and we have seen this massive effort to transfer our federally protected public lands to state control,” Gleich said. “And we know the vast majority of the time that happens, they are sold to the highest bidder for energy development, mineral extraction so that politicians can line their pockets.”

Following the debate, Curtis said he supports the state’s latest legal efforts. “I’m a strong advocate for those closest to the land are going to take the best care of it,” he said.

Gleich also criticized Curtis for failing to take action to address climate change. While he touts his leadership in the Conservative Climate Caucus, she told reporters after the debate, the group hasn’t delivered any tangible results and Curtis has a worse environmental voting record than Sen. Mike Lee.

The pro-environment League of Conservation Voters said Curtis casts pro-environment votes 6% of the time, while Lee had an 8% score.

“Utah deserves a leader that will walk the walk, not just talk the talk — and I’ve heard a lot of talk from the Conservative Climate Caucus, but I haven’t seen much meaningful action,” Gleich said. “In every opportunity he has failed to vote for legislation that would meaningfully reduce pollution at scale. He’s voted against protections for our air, water and public lands, and it’s time for a new leader.”

Curtis defended his record, arguing that when he started the caucus it seemed impossible that 85 Republicans would join the cause.

“These 85 Republicans, when asked in town hall meetings if the climate is changing, instead of going to the default, ‘It’s a hoax,’ are now saying, ‘Let me tell you what I would do,’ and many of them have pieces of legislation,” Curtis said. “I think you can point to numerous examples, both where we’ve acted together as a group and where they’ve acted individually to put forward what I call affordable, reliable, clean solutions.”

The three squared off Thursday night on the campus of Weber State University in the only scheduled debate between the trio.

There were clear distinctions on a handful of issues expressed during the hourlong debate.

Bowen said he is steadfast against abortion, which he said takes the life of a human without the human having a say. Curtis said he is pro-life and supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that lets states set abortion policy.

“I believe that that’s where it needs to be,” Curtis said. “I also think that’s where we’re going to have the most thoughtful conversations about how to deal with this.”

But Gleich said there have been “dire unintended consequences” from the court’s decision, like gynecologists considering leaving the state, more women dying during childbirth and now Republicans, she said, are attacking in vitro fertilization procedures.

“It’s long past time to end this egregious government overreach into our personal and intimate decisions,” she said.

The candidates are competing to fill the seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney, who opted not to seek reelection this year.

Bowen, who is a former Republican, repeatedly criticized Curtis for having previously been a Democrat and said the congressman still votes like one and has refused to endorse Trump. If Curtis is elected, Bowen said he thinks Cutis will be “Romney 2.0.”

Curtis said he plans to vote for Trump in November, and during Trump’s presidency, he supported the president when Trump did things he thought were good for Utah.

Curtis, who has been in the U.S. House for nearly eight years, initially ruled out a bid, then reconsidered and ended up beating three other Republican challengers to win the nomination.

Gleich, a world-class ski mountaineer, is a first-time candidate who previously worked as a climate activist and has also summited Mount Everest.

Bowen is an Air Force veteran and former American Fork city council member who ran for the Senate in 2000.

Curtis has spent more than $4 million on his campaign as of the most recent filing, dwarfing the $646,461 Gleich has spent.

The Utah Debate Commission’s poll shows Curtis with a sizable lead — 53% to 34% — but that 19-point margin is the closest a Democrat has run in a Utah election since Wayne Owens in 1992.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in Utah since Sen. Frank Moss in 1970.