Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren Visits Utah For The Hiking And The Democrats
Apr 17, 2019, 10:45 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — From the campaign trail to Big Cottonwood Canyon’s hiking trail, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren made some noise in Utah for the first time since she announced her bid for the White House.
“We need big systemic change in this country,” Senator Warren declared to an energetic crowd. “And I got a plan!”
Warren told supporters she came to Utah for just two reason – the good hiking and the democrats. On Wednesday she experienced both.
Hundreds crowded into The Depot in Salt Lake City Wednesday night, as Senator Warren laid out her plan to “attack corruption head on”, call for structural change in the economy and “rewrite the rules to protect democracy.”
Security officer at The Depot says it holds 1,200 people and it’s almost full. People are still coming in for the @ewarren organizing event. #2020PresidentialElection pic.twitter.com/i0vFhaaz2Z
— Matt Rascon (@MattRasconNews) April 18, 2019
The Depot quickly filled to capacity and Senator Warren delayed her rally to speak to those in the overflow section who wouldn’t be able to experience the event in person.
Some voters arrived fully supportive of Senator Warren’s presidential campaign. “She’s amazing and I want her to be our president,” one woman told KSL TV after the event.
Meg Randle was impressed by her knowledge of the issues.
“She knows her stuff and she does her homework,” Randle said.
Others are still weighing their options between nearly 20 democratic presidential candidates. One heckler would not be swayed. The man was escorted out after he began shouting during the question and answer portion.
A heckler is escorted out of Senator #Warren’s event in SLC after he started yelling during question/answer. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/q8hqrI28bt
— Matt Rascon (@MattRasconNews) April 18, 2019
Before the rally, Senator Warren was in hiking shoes touring the Storm Mountain area in Big Cottonwood Canyon with Carl Fisher, who is the executive director of “Save Our Canyons”.
“I feel like we’ve been lacking in leadership,” Fisher told Warren, referring to Utah’s public lands.
“We should be proud of it and take care of it and fund it,” Senator Warren said. “But also make it accessible to everybody.”
On the trail, she reiterated her promise to put a moratorium on new drilling and mining in our national lands.
“These national forests are our national treasure for everyone in this country. Not here to simply be exploited by mining companies and drilling companies,” she said.
.@ewarren has promised that if elected president, she’ll restore Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand-Staircase-Escalante, a controversial move after @POTUS announced reductions to those national monuments in 2017. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/B8lhb5j740
— Matt Rascon (@MattRasconNews) April 17, 2019
Senator Warren has also promised that if elected, she would restore the state’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments.
In 2017 President Trump announced he would reduce those national monuments, while declaring “public lands will once again be for public use.” The crowd cheered but the move also prompted lawsuits against the President.
County officials who live in those areas have criticized the presidential hopeful for being out of touch.
“I understand there are people who support expansion and there are people who don’t. Ultimately we have to think about what’s best for the national forests,” Warren said. “They belong to all of us. They are a treasure for all of us. And when they’re gone, they’re gone.”
The last time the Massachusetts Senator was in Salt Lake City was for a fundraiser over the summer, before her presidential campaign announcement. She’s one of just three democratic presidential candidates to visit the state.
