Candidates for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Peter Crosby, and Republican Blake Moore participated in a debate at Utah State University on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. The event, hosted by the Utah Debate Commission and moderated by KUTV news anchor Heidi Hatch, was broadcast live by PBS Utah. The candidates addressed a range of topics, including data centers, water, energy, the Great Salt Lake, national debt, tariffs, and the Iran War.
Rep. Blake Moore defended his record, calling himself a “productive” member of Congress focused on solutions rather than “toxic” politics. “I’ve been able to pass more legislation than anybody else in my cohort, from Great Salt Lake to Hill Air Force Base, to pro-growth and family policy with regards to tax, and it’s something that I’m going to continue to do,” Moore said.
Peter Crosby, an adjunct professor for the Center for Anticipatory Intelligence at USU, argued he is the right candidate to fix a “broken system” and “build a future for every generation to come.” “The distinct difference between (Moore) and myself really is down to Blake Moore is fine with the path that we’re on. I’m not,” Crosby said. “And if we’re going to have something different happen, we need different representation.”
Both candidates expressed support for local control over data center development and called for the creation of a fiscal commission to tackle the national debt. They also credited Utah state leaders for their approach to artificial intelligence regulation.
Crosby took some shots at Moore during the discussion on tariffs, fuel prices, and the Iran War, arguing Moore has stood by while his own party, under President Donald Trump’s administration, enacted policies that have hurt Utahns, especially farmers. “You have to end a broad tariff regime. Tariffs are fine when they’re used for strategic purposes, but this isn’t strategic. This is now an effective tax on the American people that disproportionately hurts our agricultural community,” Crosby said.
Moore said he “did not expect” fuel prices to rise as they have while Republicans have been in power and acknowledged that the war in Iran is “becoming a major, major problem.” “I’ve encouraged a ceasefire. I was hopeful for the MOU to be able to play out, and simply … fell to the wayside, unfortunately. And there is a strong motivation to be able to get this figured out, so we can move past this. This is way too difficult, particularly on those important industries.”
On gas prices, Moore said there’s a permitting bill “that is likely going to pass here in the coming months” with a goal of increasing “our domestic supply so we don’t have to rely so much on foreign sources.” “If we can accomplish that, you could see some re
