Rep. Blake Moore wins Utah 1st District race for third term
Rep. Blake Moore of Utah's 1st Congressional District won reelection to a third term, after the race was called by The Associated Press.
Moore has represented the 1st District since entering office in 2021. During his first two terms representing the northeast corner of Salt Lake Valley, northern Davis County and all of northern Utah, Moore, an Ogden native, prioritized budget reform and secured a place in House Republican leadership.
As a former management consultant, Moore has attempted to achieve his campaign promise of "reversing Washington's debt culture" by introducing a bipartisan bill that would require lawmakers to vote on mandatory federal spending, sponsoring a bill that would create a bipartisan commission to study debt solutions and by leading the the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum.
Campbell, a former business executive, and Cottam, a bariatric surgeon, accused Moore of not going far enough to address spending, during a televised debate hosted by the Utah Debate Commission. Moore argued the Republican Party's narrow House majority put the brakes on the ballooning discretionary budget under President Joe Biden, citing a debt ceiling agreement negotiated by GOP leadership last summer.
"Campaigning in our community has been very inspiring," said Campbell. "We've met and collaborated with many compassionate community leaders improving lives. I thank my honorable opponents for their efforts and ideas to better our future."
What's next for Moore?
In less than four years, Moore has risen to the position of vice chair of the House Republican Conference — the seventh-highest ranking position in the House GOP, tasked with coordinating party messaging. He has also secured positions on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy, and the Budget Committee.
Moore's rising influence within Congress could be curbed by the outcome of the 434 other congressional elections on Tuesday. Democrats appeared to have the upper hand on election night, with national races projected to give them a slim majority of 225-210 seats.
Moore entered office in January of 2021 after narrowly winning a four-way Republican primary by less than 3,000 votes. In his first reelection test, Moore lost in the state convention by 20 percentage points before going on to win in the primary by nearly 30 percentage points.
This year Moore lost in convention by 10 percentage points before going on to win by 42 percentage points in the primary. He beat his Democratic challengers in 2020 and 2022 by nearly 40 percentage points.
