GOP candidates for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District united on many issues, but differ on Ukraine

Candidates in the Republican primary for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District take part in a televised debate at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. From left to right are JR Bird, John Dougall, Mike Kennedy, Case Lawrence and Stewart Peay. (Pool photo by Spenser Heaps for Deseret News)

From support for Ukraine to tackling the deficit, candidates for the 3rd Congressional District tried to differentiate themselves during Utah’s last congressional debate Wednesday.

The race is wide open, with current GOP Rep. John Curtis now competing  for Sen. Mitt Romney’s seat in the Senate . For Republicans, the crowded field consists of the following  — Roosevelt Mayor J.R. Bird, Utah Auditor John Dougall, State Sen. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, Utah County entrepreneur Case Lawrence, and veteran and former Utah County Republican Party chairman Stewart Peay.

Throughout the one hour debate hosted by the Utah Debate Commission at PBS Utah’s studios in Salt Lake city, candidates appeared aligned on a number of issues — but a discrepancy appeared on the topic of Ukraine and whether to continue supporting its military amid the Russian invasion.

Peay, who leaned on his experience in the Army, said the U.S. should continue to give weapons to Ukraine to avoid Russia from escalating. Doing so, he said, would send a message to Russia, as well as Iran and China, which he called an “evil block.”

“Places like Taiwan and the Middle East will grow worse,” he said.

As a representative, Peay said he would continue to support aid packages for Ukraine.  “America has not changed so much in 60 years that we’re ready to turn our back on the cause of freedom,” he said, referring to policies of former President Ronald Reagan.

Bird, on the other hand, said he would’ve been a “no” vote on the latest aid package, calling the war a “quagmire … we’re not moving the needle.” However he said he would support isolating Russia economically, which includes lifting the ban on natural gas exports so other countries don’t need to rely on Russia and imposing more sanctions.

Dougall also said he would be a “no” vote on the aid package, yet said the country should still support Ukraine and praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, for sending “bullets not boys. I don’t want boots on the ground.” Dougall called for strengthening the American military so the country is better prepared “if we end up in a hot war” with rival powers like China.

“I also want to avoid European countries exercising and invoking Article 5 of NATO where we come to their mutual defense,” Dougall said.

Kennedy couldn’t say whether he would have voted for the aid package, saying he would need to read through the bill before answering. But he blamed President Joe Biden for the country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, arguing that it sent the wrong message to other world powers.

“We don’t have the money to do all this,” Kennedy said. “When Ukraine needs help, we want to provide it. But you need to pay for it and in that case if they can’t pay for it, we should seize Russian assets and make Russia pay for the mess.”

Lawrence said he would be a “yes” vote on the aid package — but like Kennedy, he said much of the world’s instability is “because Biden is projecting weakness.” He said funding Ukraine’s military wasn’t foreign aid, it was a foreign investment.

“When we talk about Ukraine, we talk a lot about the cost and we skip over talking about the cause. Their cause is just, they are freedom fighters protecting their homeland,” Lawrence said.

Tackling national debt

Dougall, who said he would prioritize fiscal responsibility, called the national debt “one of the greatest security threats.” When asked what he would do to reduce the country’s debt, which sits at just over $33 trillion, Dougall said he would target the U.S. Department of Education.

Kennedy said growing up in poverty taught him to control money, “or it would control you,” and he promised to not vote on large omnibus bills that increased federal spending without at least reading them first. A practicing doctor, Kennedy said Medicaid and Medicare are rife with fraud and would be the first place he would look to reduce the debt.

Lawrence cited his entrepreneurial background, which “prepared me uniquely to lead on the issue of the budget and deficit.” He said that expertise gives him the ability to balance budgets, increase efficiency and create jobs. He would put “unproven green climate schemes” in his crosshairs to scale back the debt.

According to Peay, most members of Congress don’t feel the pains of the average Utahn, which leads to runaway spending and inflation. The answer, Peay said, is more veterans in Congress, whose shared experiences allow them to be more effective. To reduce spending, he said he would cut transportation funding at the federal level and send it back to the states.

Bird said being both a business owner and mayor taught him how to balance budgets. He called for more single-subject legislation, while pushing for a bill that would “tie the hands of Congress” until they balance the budget. When asked what he would cut, he pointed to Congress adding “$500 billion, close to that, in mandatory welfare spending.”

Pro-life candidates skeptical of a federal ban on abortion

Citing his large family and experience as a doctor, Kennedy said Utah should be a model for other states considering abortion legislation. The government should “support women” in making the choice to keep a baby — if not, they should facilitate adoption.

Calling himself “strongly and unequivocally pro-life,” Lawrence applauded the recent Dobbs decision which took the issue “out of the hands of the judiciary and unelected judges and gave it back to the representatives of the people, including Congress.” He supports letting it play out in the states for now; however, he said if other states continue “marketing and encouraging abortion tourism” Congress should consider some kind of federal ban.

Peay said with exceptions like a life-threatening pregnancy, rape or incest, abortions should not happen. However, he advocated against any kind of ban from Congress, warning that it would grow the footprint of the federal government, likening it to public land policies or business regulations.

That sentiment was echoed by Bird, who also advocated against abortion as a form of contraception but said the issue should not fall to the federal government. “Utah does a great job with the abortion issue, and I think in this moment of time it needs to be left to the states,” he said.

Dougall argued that Republicans have “spent years making the case that this should be a state issue.” He issued a warning to anyone advocating for policies at the federal level — a solution from Congress will ultimately lead to “a California-style pro-abortion plan and policies,” he said.

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