Overview
- Incumbent Republican Mike Kennedy and Democrat Jonny Larsen met in a statewide televised debate at Snow College to lay out opposing priorities for Utah’s Fourth District.
- Kennedy emphasized energy production and fiscal stewardship, saying he sponsored the License to Drill Act and tying his agenda to President Trump and lower gas prices.
- Larsen attacked Kennedy’s record on military oversight, noting multiple votes against War Powers resolutions and calling for an end to what he labeled an illegal war as a veteran who served in combat.
- The candidates clashed over social safety nets and public lands, with Larsen accusing Republicans of letting people go hungry and Kennedy defending SNAP oversight while proposing some federal land be opened for housing.
- Both agreed data center decisions should be local but Larsen pressed for a moratorium until community concerns over water, land use and local control are addressed, and he appealed to Republican crossover voters as a self-described moderate.