Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOGAN — Democratic candidate for governor Mike Weinholtz took some tough shots at Republican Gov. Gary Herbert in what will likely be their last debate Monday, but the governor said he has Utahns on his side.
"My opponent is more of a traditional, liberal Democrat. (There's) nothing wrong with that. But I don't think it reflects the people of Utah," Herbert told reporters after the hourlong televised debate at Utah State University.
Weinholtz said he was able to make it clear he is "willing to fight for the people. Gov. Herbert is always focusing on data and how business is doing. And I'm more focused on how people are doing."
Throughout the debate, Weinholtz called for the state to do more on a range of topics, including expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act and preserving public lands.
The chairman of CHG Healthcare, who has pumped $2.5 million of his own money into the race, criticized the governor for what he said was a "punt" to the Legislature on Medicaid expansion.
But Herbert, who tried and failed to get lawmakers to accept his Healthy Utah alternative to the federal program aimed at providing health care to some 120,000 Utahns, said an "expansion of Obamacare is a problem" for voters.
Weinholtz called the program that will cover less than 10 percent of those Utahns a "moral outrage" and said the governor was "politicizing" the issue by labeling the full expansion favored by Democrats "Obamacare."
Herbert reacted a few moments later when Weinholtz referred to the governor spending “so much of his time with his fat-cat large corporate donors that he doesn’t have a sense of what is important to everyday families” in response to a question about raising the minimum wage.
“You talk about my ‘fat-cat rich people’ like this is somehow not politicizing the argument. I’ve talked to President Obama, and he refers to it as Obamacare,” the governor said, calling himself a “free market guy” when it comes to the economy.
The exchange, over the reference to a secret recording earlier this year of Herbert telling lobbyists he would make himself available to their clients in exchange for campaign contributions, was the sharpest of the night.
The pair also sparred over public lands, just as they did in their first debate before the Utah League of Cities and Towns held earlier this month, scheduled after what Herbert blamed a “miscommunication” about his participation.
Herbert said there are no plans to sell off the federally controlled public lands within Utah, but the state can do a better job of managing them. Weinholtz pointed to legislation allowing for the lands to be sold and a proposed lawsuit against the federal government with an estimated $14 million price tag.
They also differed on legalizing medical marijuana. Herbert said scientific research is needed to back the claims it is helpful, and Weinholtz said he stands with Utahns who support legalization. The Democrat did not bring up his wife’s use of cannabis to treat chronic pain, which federal authorities said in July is under investigation.
The evening’s biggest applause came during a brief discussion of the presidential race, when Weinholtz referred to Republican Donald Trump as “the joker Republicans have put up for this election.” While he said he was supporting the “Democratic nominee,” he never mentioned Hillary Clinton by name.
Herbert, however, did. The governor said he is voting for Trump because of Clinton’s desire “to grow government out of control” and cited a number of reasons Utahns don’t like the former secretary of state, including dishonesty “bordering on criminal activity.”
Their debate, held before an only partially filled auditorium just before the much-anticipated matchup between the presidential contenders, was sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission. It is expected to be the last debate in this year’s gubernatorial race.
Polls have given Herbert a substantial lead over Weinholtz, a political newcomer who has been running TV commercials introducing himself to voters for weeks. Herbert had a tough primary challenge from Overstock.com Chairman Jonathan Johnson, but easily won his party’s nomination in June.
“Data doesn’t lie,” the governor said in his closing statement. “The statistics tell us we’re doing very well.”
He told reporters after the debate that his own polling shows Utahns agree the state is on the right track under his leadership.
Weinholtz concluded by saying, “Data doesn’t always equate to how it’s affecting people on the ground. You know our economy is not working for everyone.”
He said after the debate he was able to show Utahns he is passionate about issues and “willing to fight for them.”
