Utah News Dispatch
Data centers, redistricting and Great Salt Lake take center stage in Republican CD2 debate
Candidates Karianne Lisonbee and Blake Moore participate in the 2nd Congressional District GOP primary debate in Salt Lake City on Monday, June 1, 2026. (Pool photo by Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune)
Rep. Blake Moore defended his record during three terms in Congress Monday as Republican primary challenger state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee attacked him for backing a 2018 anti-gerrymandering measure at the heart of a legal battle that resulted in a safe blue seat in Utah.
From a debate stage in Salt Lake City, the two candidates pitched themselves to voters in Utah’s newly drawn 2nd Congressional District, staking out differences in how they see plans for a massive hyperscale data center in the district and on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1 billion in federal funding to help the drying Great Salt Lake.
Focused on Moore’s role as co-chair of the 2018 Better Boundaries initiative resulting in the voter-approved law known as Proposition 4, Lisonbee said that “one of us handed a congressional seat to Utah Democrats. I will always fight for conservative principles and outcomes.”
Moore now represents Utah’s current 1st Congressional District, and he’s been endorsed by President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Making his case to voters Monday, he criticized a Utah judge’s decision in the yearslong redistricting battle to adopt a new map that created the reliable Democratic district.
He said the question of where to draw the boundaries should have gone back to state lawmakers and that he supports a push to amend Utah’s constitution to stipulate the Legislature has that power.
“Republicans can win on candidates and policy, we don’t need to manipulate too much to do it,” Moore said. Both candidates condemned partisan gerrymandering during the debate hosted by the Utah Debate Commission and PBS Utah in Salt Lake City.
Moore touted legislation he’s sponsored that led to the creation of “Trump accounts” for young kids and brought about a scientific monitoring and assessment program for saline lakes. He also noted he was the first Utahn elected to a GOP leadership position in the U.S. House as the vice chair of the House Republican Conference.
A state lawmaker from Clearfield, Lisonbee has served in Utah’s House of Representatives since 2017. She’s known for sponsoring high-profile laws such as Utah’s 2020 trigger law seeking to ban most abortions, which was later placed on hold by a court while a legal challenge plays out, and a 2021 measure expanding Utah’s self-defense law.
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When asked whether they support the proposed Stratos data center backed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary, Lisonbee said there are “too many unanswered questions” about impacts to water and taxpayers to say.
“I’m not supportive at this point until questions are answered, and that’s why I’ve called for more public hearings and more transparency,” she said.
Moore called water “paramount. We need to make sure that we’re being very protective of that resource” and said the sheer scale of the land involved gave people pause.
“My opportunity will be — is to make sure key stakeholders are talking to each other and if they do decide this, we help usher this in the right way,” he said.
On Trump’s budget proposal for the Great Salt Lake, Moore mentioned the conversations he and Rep. Celeste Maloy have had with federal officials to help inform them about the issue, while Lisonbee questioned whether the sum from the White House “is more deficit spending.” She added, “Look, I’m not saying I’m not grateful for more resources that can go to the Great Salt Lake.”
Lisonbee was the preferred candidate of GOP delegates at their April nominating convention, winning 61.5% of the vote. Moore got 33.7%. He had already qualified by gathering signatures in Utah’s dual system allowing candidates to qualify for the ballot through signature gathering, party nomination, or both.
The primary election is June 23. The winner of the GOP contest will face Democrat Peter Crosby, Libertarian Daniel Cottam and Carlton Bowen of the Independent American Party of Utah in the Nov. 3 general election.
