Utah AG candidates offer different visions for office in debate

Who will be the state’s top attorney and what approach would that person take? Candidates for Utah attorney general answered questions on issues from public lands to social media, each pitching themselves as the right person for the job during the debate on Tuesday evening at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.

Republican candidate Derek Brown said he has four reasons for running: “Alex, Zach, Eliza and Spencer. Those are my kids.” He said he loves the state and right now the state and country are at a critical juncture.

“You know that what we do in the next few years will have a major impact on the kind of state that we give to our children,” said Brown.

Rudy Bautista, the Democratic candidate, said he wants to restore trust in the office and walk away from scandals.

“I would like to bring the same thing to this state and bring a cloud of shame away from us,” said Bautista, adding he wants Utahns to look at his record as a business owner, officer in the Navy and public defender.

Both Brown and Bautista said they would make their calendars open to the public and their party affiliation would not necessarily guide them.

But they offered a different vision for Utah.

Brown said he would continue litigation on public lands and against social media companies, while Bautista indicated he may not.

Vision for the office and restoring trust

Four candidates qualified for the stage at SUU: Brown (Republican), Bautista (Democratic), Andrew McCullough (Libertarian) and Michelle Quist (United Utah Party).

Maura Carabello, founder and president of The Exoro Group, moderated the debate, which was put on by the Utah Debate Commission. Candidates were asked what their vision for the office would be and how they would restore trust.

The Utah attorney general essentially runs the largest firm in the state, said Brown. He said he has spent the better part of the year traveling the state to hear what people want in an attorney general.

“People want someone who will protect the most vulnerable including children, who will protect the state from issues like federal government overreach and will protect the state on the issues involving crime,” Brown said.

Brown said his fundamental philosophy of government is the genius of America’s democratic republic is that power is dispersed among different branched composed of many people. He said he views the office of the attorney general as accountable to the people.

Pointing toward his background as a state legislator, Brown said he is the only one on the stage who has served in public office.

There needs to be someone in the office who will focus on the job and only the job, said Bautista.

“I am the only candidate that has refused to accept financial contributions,” said Bautista, explaining he made the decision to not accept contributions so he would not be beholden to donors.

Though he said he was running as a Democrat, Bautista said he was an independent. “I am both progressive and conservative depending on the issue.” He said he would represent the people and do what they want.

As for Quist, she said the office was politicized for too long and she wants to return integrity to the office.

“We need a nonpartisan, independent attorney general who is willing to speak up and say to the people of Utah, this is what the Legislature is doing,” said Quist, referencing Amendment D. She said the current attorney general did not speak up during that process and she would.

Quist said the attorney general should restore trust by avoiding the appearance of conflict.

McCullough said he wants to see the state of Utah “be kinder and gentler to its citizens.”

“I think the attorney general can do a lot of things with his bully pulpit,” he said. “I think he can go to the Legislature and he can say this law that you’re about to pass is dumb.”

At age 76, McCullough said he does not intend to run for Senate or build himself up. “I just intend to do my business, and I know what my business is. I believe that my business is to get that kinder, gentler government, and to get government off of people’s backs.”

The Democratic and Republican candidates had different views on their approach to whether or not they would defend laws passed by the Utah Legislature. When a student asked about the Equal Opportunities Initiatives law passed in the 2024 legislative sessions, candidates said they would approach it differently.

“Absolutely they do,” said Bautista, indicating he believes the law violates individuals’ constitutional rights. If elected, he said he would not defend these laws and he would “not support those (laws) that are unconstitutional.”

As attorney general, Brown said he would work with lawmakers on the front end to help them see around corners to avoid any potential issues. He also said he would defend the state’s laws as attorney general.

Public lands lawsuits

The state recently filed a landmark lawsuit arguing some public lands (referred to unappropriated) should be given to the state of Utah instead. There are numerous other lawsuits the state has filed dealing with the control of public land.

The candidates were asked if this issue should be resolved by lawsuits or negotiation.

“We need to remember we’re one state in the United States of America,” said Bautista. He said the arguing over whose land it is needs to stop.

“This is all rhetoric to get the state over the land so that we can sell them for corporate greed,” he said.

Brown expressed support for the recent public lands lawsuit and said it was “critical that as a state we have the ability to control it and not individuals who are unaccountable 1,800 miles away.”

With around two-thirds of lands in Utah controlled by the federal government, Brown said this is an issue the state has worked on for over a decade and indicated he would continue.

Quist said she would take it case by case.

There are some cases that she said were important to prosecute such as when roads are not properly maintained and counties could not go and rescue people. She said she had the experience necessary to litigate those cases.

“My general impression is that when the state comes in and says that we want more of the land under our control is it’s a money grab,” said McCullough.

Efforts to protect children from alleged harms of social media

Utah has filed lawsuits against social media companies like Meta and TikTok. The candidates were asked if they would continue the course of action the state has taken on these issues.

The state has not figured out how to balance First Amendment rights with protecting children from potential harms social media may pose, said Quist. Throughout the debate, she mentioned a couple times Brown represented Meta and said he had a conflict of interest.

“The attorney general’s office deals with conflicts of interest all of the time,” Brown responded. “There are almost 300 attorneys.”

He said this regularly comes up in the office. “Ms. Quist should know that. She’s just hoping that you don’t know that.”

If elected as Utah attorney general, Brown said he would keep the lawsuits moving forward. He said when he represented Meta, he brought them to the table with legislators to figure out a path forward for solving this issue.

“It’s a fight that we have to keep moving forward on and our kids are too important,” said Brown.

Bautista said he would have to look at each of the lawsuits and decide whether or not to move forward. “But I’m inclined to not.”

Referencing his lack of a smartphone, McCullough said he wants parents to have control. He also said he would not censor social media.

Should initiatives be protected?

Amendment D was a topic of conversation at the debate. Candidates were asked if they thought citizen initiatives should be protected.

“For over a century, we’ve had this system of checks and balances in place,” said Brown. “I think it’s healthy. I think it’s essential.” He said he had no concerns with the decision about whether or not the Utah Legislature can amend or repeal initiatives should be decided by the people of Utah.

Quist said Utahns have had the right to use the citizen initiative process to reform the government “without government infringement.”

“We seem to all forget that as a republic, as a democracy, we are accountable to the people,” said Bautista, adding he thinks citizens should be able to change the law. He said certain issues like abortion should be left to the people to decide rather than lawmakers who he said are sometimes out of step with the public.

What’s next?

Come November, Utahns will have the opportunity to vote on which candidate they would like to lead Utah Attorney General’s Office. The election is Nov. 5.