Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, left, and Democratic challenger Darlene McDonald are pictured on this composite photograph. Kristin Murphy, Deseret Information
Republican Rep. Burgess Owens and Democratic challenger Darlene McDonald agreed on little or no in a energetic debate Friday that featured two Black congressional candidates for maybe the primary time in Utah.
James Curry, a College of Utah political science professor who moderated the talk, stated “so far as we all know” two African American candidates have by no means confronted one another in a serious political race within the state.
Owens stated he didn’t comprehend it was outstanding till a reporter requested him and McDonald about it after the hourlong trade. He stated they is likely to be members of the identical race however they’re not monolithic.
“Sooner or later, this even is not going to be an enormous deal. We’ll recover from it. We’ll simply understand that is America. That is who we're,” Owens stated.
McDonald stated she needs to ensure everybody within the state has illustration, noting Utah’s small Black inhabitants. She stated she needs Utahns to see her as somebody who represents their values. All households, she stated, need clear air and water, well being care and a residing wage.
“I hope that is what they see once they have a look at me,” she stated.
The sharpest variations between the 4th Congressional District candidates emerged of their views on abortion and election legislation in the course of the hourlong trade. The candidates organized the talk after Owens skipped a scheduled debate earlier this month. The controversy was streamed from a venue in South Jordan on social media platforms with out a reside viewers.
Owens refused to take part in a debate sponsored by the nonpartisan Utah Debate Fee as a result of the moderator was the chief editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, which he stated ran a “racist” political cartoon about him final yr. On the identical time, he invited McDonald to hitch him at two city corridor occasions in October.
McDonald known as Owens pulling out of the sooner debate on the final minute “cowardly.” She and United Utah Social gathering candidate January Walker debated with out the freshman congressman.
That didn’t come up Friday, although Owens refused to reply a Salt Lake Tribune reporter’s query to each candidates about redistricting after the talk.
“I’m going to let Darlene reply that as a result of I don’t take care of the racist Salt Lake Trib. I believe you realize that,” Owens stated.
Through the debate, Owens and McDonald had a protracted back-and-forth in regards to the Supreme Court docket overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 resolution that assured a girl the precise to abortion.
McDonald stated the position of presidency doesn’t embrace taking away girls’s reproductive freedom and telling them what they will do with their our bodies.
“It is a resolution that should stay with a girl and her physician,” she stated. “The federal government has no enterprise on this in any respect.”
Owens stated the Supreme Court docket accurately returned selections about abortion legislation to the states. He stated it ought to by no means have been put within the fingers of 9 individuals.
“You should have some individuals now perceive that the lifetime of a child is vital, that it’s not simply one thing to toss away,” he stated.
Utah prohibits elective abortions, with few exceptions, together with if the mom’s life is in danger, if the being pregnant was a results of rape or incest or if two physicians who apply “maternal-fetal drugs” each decide that the fetus has a extreme defect. A state decide put the legislation on maintain pending the result of a lawsuit by Deliberate Parenthood of Utah.
Owens stated he’s proud to reside in a state that values life.
“If you wish to have limitless abortion to the very level at which the infant’s born and even afterwards, go to New York. Transfer to New York. They do this. However right here in Utah we don’t,” he stated.
In her rebuttal, McDonald stated, “Can I say that there’s no such factor as aborting a child after it’s born? Can I simply say that? Am I allowed to say that? That’s known as homicide.”
Although for various causes, each candidate stated they might oppose a proposed nationwide abortion ban.
McDonald and Owens additionally had a spirited trade over election legal guidelines and the Capitol riot.
Utah leaders ought to have promoted the state’s voting system as a mannequin for the nation as a substitute of shopping for into the “huge lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, McDonald stated, calling out Owens for voting towards certifying Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.
“Really he made that vote, it was after the individuals had stormed the Capitol within the rebel,” she stated.
Democrats additionally voted to not certify previous presidential elections, Owens stated. He stated he had a motive to vote towards certification for Pennsylvania. “I lived in Philadelphia for 25 years, and so they cheat. Everyone who lives there is aware of they cheat,” he stated, including they modify the principles on the eleventh hour.
McDonald stated Owens and different members of Congress instructed Pennsylvania residents, together with many Black voters, that their vote didn’t matter. “That comes from you guys pushing the massive lie since you didn’t agree with the result of the election,” she stated.
Owens stated he’s “very proud” of that vote. He stated if he finds one thing incorrect in any state, he’s going to face towards it.