Candidates for Utah’s 4th Congressional District Democrat Jonny Larsen and Republican Mike Kennedy participated in a debate at Snow College in Ephraim on Thursday, October 8, 2026. The candidates sparred over issues including the Iran War, public lands, and immigration enforcement. The debate was hosted by the Utah Debate Commission, moderated by Doug Wilks with the Deseret News and broadcast by PBS Utah.
Kennedy, now representing Utah’s current 3rd House District under the state’s previous congressional boundaries, said he is ‘just getting started making Washington smaller and Utah stronger.’ Larsen pitched himself as a moderate Democrat focused on issues of fiscal responsibility and national security. ‘We should be working on the 90% of issues that we all agree on instead of fighting over the 10% that we don’t,’ Larsen said in his closing statement. ‘So I’d like to ask you: Would you like a ‘blue dog’ or a lap dog to this administration?’
Kennedy did not directly respond to the characterization, focusing his closing remarks on Utah’s pioneer history and saying, ‘We have the opportunity to work together to build a brighter future here in this state.’ He told reporters after the debate that he has worked with Democrats on eight bills he has sponsored that have won approval from the U.S. House. ‘Every one of them is a collaborative effort with my Democrat colleagues,’ Kennedy said.
When asked during the debate about the cost of gas, Larsen condemned the Iran War, saying ‘we absolutely need to end this illegal war to bring order back’ and drive down fuel prices. He criticized Kennedy for voting repeatedly against a war powers resolution that would stop the president from continuing military action without the approval of Congress. ‘As a veteran myself, who did two tours in combat, I understand that cost, and that price that we pay with American blood,’ Larsen said.
Kennedy said he is proud of President Donald Trump’s actions against Iran. ‘They have to be dealt with. And I recognize that there’s pain in the short run, but there will be significant gain in the long run,’ Kennedy said. He added that ‘to tie the president’s hands in the middle of a national security crisis is not the right thing for us to do.’ Kennedy said he sponsored legislation that could help drive down gas prices called the License to Drill Act, which seeks to extend federal oil and gas permitting fees.
When it comes to efforts to sell or transfer public land into private hands, Kennedy said, ‘there is an opportunity for us to use those lands in a responsible fashion.’ He said he is in favor of allowing a community with small tracts of land that are federally controlled to use those parcels for developing homes. Larsen disagreed, saying he is concerned about mining, drilling, and effects of those projects on groundwater in rural areas. ‘Let’s not ruin the water supply that we are so desperately in need of right now, and protect our public lands for our indigenous people and tribes who absolutely deserve that,’ Larsen said.
