Two final debates took the stage Thursday

SALT LAKE CITY — The final two debates hosted by the Utah Debate Commission ahead of this month’s Republican primary election took place Thursday.

During the hour-long debate that started at 2 p.m., the three GOP candidates for Utah’s 1st District U.S. House seat took the stage.

Two of the three Utah Republican candidates for U.S. Senate take the debate stage ahead of this month’s GOP primary election.

You can watch and listen live on @KSL5TV and @kslnewsradio pic.twitter.com/CaTia07a8d

— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) June 3, 2022

First Congressional District Rep. Blake Moore, former Morgan County Council member Tina Cannon and former civilian intelligence officer Andrew Badger fielded questions from the debate moderator and journalists.

Moore was the only Republican incumbent to participate in the series of primary debates put on by the nonpartisan Utah Debate Commission.

Topics included inflation, affordable housing, federal spending, the national debt and preventing mass shootings. The candidates also focused on economic issues facing the 1st Congressional District—which encompasses northern Utah—including agriculture, water policies, and Hill Air Force Base.

In the evening, two of the three GOP candidates for U.S. Senate took the stage for an hour-long debate that started at 6 p.m.

Former state lawmaker Becky Edwards and communications strategist Ally Isom appeared together along with an empty podium.

They didn’t hold back in their criticism of Senator Mike Lee who declined to participate in this debate sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission. However, he did participate in a debate yesterday put on by the Utah Republican Party.

Edwards and Isom reacted to the recent mass shootings and also debated the topics of energy policy, inflation, federal spending, the 2020 federal election and national security.

These debates are wrapping up just as ballots will be hitting mailboxes next week ahead of the Utah GOP Primary Election on June 28.