Rick Bowmer, Keynote USA
In this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, photo, election workers return voted ballots at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City.
After Brian Adams abandoned his spot as the Utah Democratic Party representative in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives’ 2nd Congressional District, the party is seeking a candidate to take his place in the November general election. .
Utah Democrats will meet virtually Saturday at 10 a.m. to hear from the eight candidates running for the seat and select a replacement for Adams, who won his nomination in an uncontested race.
Adams agreed to withdraw his nomination after the Utah Young Democrats said he did not represent the party’s values. He had publicly praised independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and on his website described the January 6 violators as “politically persecuted.”
“Their policy and policy positions are not tied to reality as much as they are to the principles that motivate our members,” the Utah Young Democrats wrote in a statement.
Candidate comments will be limited to five minutes on Saturday. Central Committee members within District 2 will have two hours to vote in a virtual, ranked-choice convention-style election. The candidate who is selected will go to the general elections in November, without facing a primary.
The candidate will face incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy or Colby Jenkins, depending on the outcome of the June 25 Republican primary.
These are the Democrats vying for the nomination in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District:
Benjamin Coffey
Benjamin Coffey, a project engineer at a Sandy power company, said in his speech on the Utah Democratic Party website that growing up as a Latter-day Saint in West Valley City, one of Utah’s most diverse areas, following careers traditional and technical, and being lower middle class would help him represent Utahns of different backgrounds.
“To me, the pursuit of happiness means that everyone who wants to own a home can do so. Everyone should be able to see a doctor without fear of bankruptcy. Education of any kind should be available to all people from all walks of life,” Coffey wrote.
David Curtis
Darrell Curtis previously ran for local offices, including the West Valley City Council. In an earlier biography, Curtis said he was a graduate of Utah Technical College (now Salt Lake Community College) and the University of Utah who worked for a nonprofit group in Washington, DC. He then returned to West Valley City in 1993.
“I believe that our representatives must defend the truth and values. That character does matter. “I cannot stand by and allow this hypocrisy to continue,” Curtis wrote in a statement. “The lies about the 2020 election have driven a wedge in our country. Our country is better than this. “We need people like our representative who will stand up for truth and character.”
Carlos free
For the past 26 years, Charles Free has owned and operated a yellow cab in Salt Lake County, he wrote to the committee. His priorities are reproductive rights, helping fix a “broken” immigration system and seizing new political opportunities to move MAGA policies away from the country’s political establishment, he said.
“There is now a unique opportunity to reach independents and Republican-leaning Republicans,” Free wrote.
Randy Hopkins
Randy Hopkins unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in the 2018 and 2020 elections. Before retiring in 2013, he was regional director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services for 35 years. The issues he plans to prioritize are climate change, public lands, affordable health care, Social Security and Medicare, and health care for women without government interference.
“I am not naïve enough to believe this is an easy race for our party to win,” he wrote. “But I am confident that many Republican-leaning independent voters, displeased with Donald Trump, are now willing to consider a Democratic candidate.”
Schuyler Rhodes
Schuyler Rhodes is the chairman of the Iron County Democratic Party. He has also been a pastor, author, teacher and community organizer, according to his website. Some of the issues he highlighted in his statement to the party were water, education, affordable housing and environmental degradation.
“I have spent my entire life upholding the values of justice and community and I bring this experience to this time and place,” he wrote. “Our future depends on our ability to come together to collaborate, care and move forward for the good of all.”
Garrett Rushforth
Garret Rushforth is a theater and social studies teacher who tried to gather signatures to run for the US Senate earlier this year. In his statement to the state Democratic Party, he said “there is no one more versed in the volatility of education today” or in state and national education crises.
“I’m tired of waiting for our politicians to do what they promised in this state. I’m tired of elected officials misrepresenting us at the federal level. “I’m tired of waiting and wishing for someone to fall from the sky and save us,” he wrote. “So, it’s time for me to step up.”
Nathaniel Woodward
Nathaniel Woodward is the chairman of the Carbon County Democratic Party. He grew up and lives in a mining area where he practices law, representing rural residents “in almost any capacity they may need.” He pledged to work in Congress to focus on issues that reflect state values and benefit people affected by federal legislation.
“Governor Cox has promoted a ‘better to disagree’ platform from a position where he and his party have all the power,” Woodward wrote in a statement. “I will work to ‘disagree better’ from a platform that benefits everyone at the table, as long as they are honest, trustworthy, and dedicated to the freedom and protection of all Utahns.”
Warren Wright
As an African-American combat veteran, Warren Wright said he would bring his experience in challenging environments to Congress. He is also committed to bringing about “meaningful change in our society.”
“With an unwavering spirit of service, I stand ready to lend my support where and when needed, striving to make a tangible impact on the issues that matter most to our communities,” Wright wrote in a statement.
Utah News Dispatch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news source covering government, policy and the issues that most impact the lives of Utahns.
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