EXCLUSIVE: Utah GOP House candidate Karianne Lisonbee challenges incumbent Rep Blake Moore to county debates

Utah GOP state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee is challenging incumbent US congressman Blake Moore to a series of debates in different Utah counties across the state's District 2. The challenge comes after Lisonbee bested Moore at the state convention, where she won 61.5 percent of the votes among 1,000 state delegates.

Moore came away from the convention with 33.7 percent of the vote and former National Guardsman Colton Hatch got 4.8 percent. Utah's primary system allows Moore to still qualify for the primary by submitting over 7,000 verified signatures to get on the primary ballot.

"Karianne Lisonbee, fresh off of a major victory at last weekend’s Utah Republican Convention, challenges her opponent Blake Moore to a series of debates across Utah’s CD2," her campaign told The Post Millennial. These debates would be in District 2, which includes much of nothern Utah.

She challenged Moore to debate in the Davis, Weber, Box Elder, Cache, and Rich counties, noting that they would be hosted by the county Republican party organizations.

“Republican primary voters deserve healthy debates and a side-by-side contrast before casting their votes in June," she said. "As a solid conservative with a track record of success, I am ready to demonstrate why I am the better option to represent Northern Utah in Congress. Voters in all 5 counties across CD2 should be given the opportunity to hear mine and my opponent’s vision and ideas for how the two of us plan to best represent them in Congress.”

Critics have pointed to Moore's record in Congress as the reason he faces a primary challenge as well as his advocacy for the initiative known as "Better Boundaries." He is the former co-chair of the organization that backed the creation of an independent redistricting commission in 2018. The efforts to form the commission have now made it nearly certain that the GOP—which holds four seats in the state—will lose a seat in the midterm elections.

The efforts from Better Boundaries led to the passing of Prop 4, which allowed Utah residents to sue the state if they believed that the legislature had gerrymandered the state map. Later down the line, left-wing activist groups sued over the proposed map in 2022. A judge in November sided with the plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters of Utah and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and carved out most of Salt Lake County—a heavy Democrat area—to be its own district.

Moore later said that he opposed the decision by the judge in the case. He added that Better Boundaries has turned into an organization “fighting for a partisan outcome."

Moore and his supporters have appealed to his voting record and work in Congress, according to Deseret News. During the convention, he highlighted his work on the Ways and Means Committee to help pass legislation such as the Big Beautiful Bill as well as drafting bills that led to more tax cuts as well as the "Trump Accounts."

Lisonbee blasted Moore during her convention speech for working “with Democrats to turn a reliably red Utah congressional seat deep blue.” She also focused on cultural issues, such immigration enforcement, her record for cutting spending, as well as victories on banning elective abortion.

The primary in Utah for Congress and other elections will take place on June 23.