Love, Owens argue over education funding in final debate; new poll released


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SALT LAKE CITY — Republican Mia Love leads Democrat Doug Owens in the 4th District congressional race by 5 points, a new UtahPolicy.com poll released Thursday shows.

But the poll by Dan Jones & Associates has a margin of error of plus or minus just under 5 percent, making the race to replace retiring Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, too close to call.

"I don't think it's over. I don't," Jones said.

Two weeks ago, another UtahPolicy.com poll had Love ahead by 9 points, but Jones said there was momentum for Owens after an online BYU poll released Monday gave him a slight lead for the first time.

"What I thought was that BYU poll would energize the Democrats, but apparently it energized a lot of Republicans saying, 'Gee, is it this close?'" Jones said.

He said Owens could still win the race.

"Five points isn't very much," Jones said.

That's the lead Love had at this point two years ago in her bid to unseat Matheson. She lost that race despite gaining national attention as possibly the first black woman Republican elected to Congress.

Thursday morning's hourlong debate between Love and Owens on KSL Newsradio's "The Doug Wright Show" could also impact the outcome of Tuesday's election, Jones said. The poll was completed before the candidates sparred.

Much of the debate's heat was generated over questions related to Owens' labeling Love as extreme throughout the campaign and her continued characterization of that as an attack.


I find that personal. My religion, my faith, is between my husband and my family, and to say I don't have LDS values because I'm Republican, what does that say for all the rest of the people that are out there that are Republicans that are LDS?

–Mia Love


"There he goes again," Love told Owens after he said if she's "going to flip-flop on education, I'm glad she's flopping in the right direction and in favor of student loans at this point."

Love, who called for ending student aid during her 2012 campaign for the seat, said she doesn't want to get rid of student loans but does want to end the "federal government monopoly" on student loans.

She has previously said her position was meant to spark discussion. Education has been a focal point of the race, pushed by Owens as an example of what he calls Love's extreme positions.

Asked if she believed Owens' attacks were personal, she said Owens made a comment about her "LDS values." Both candidates are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"I find that personal," Love said. "My religion, my faith, is between my husband and my family, and to say I don't have LDS values because I'm Republican, what does that say for all the rest of the people that are out there that are Republicans that are LDS?"

Owens said he never made a comment about her faith.

"We are members of the same church, so I don't know how I would be doing any such thing," he said.

Later, Owens said while he didn't remember exactly what he told the LDS Democrats at the party's state convention in April, he was trying to say that Love's "extreme positions are not representative of Utah or LDS values."

The pair bickered over other issues during the debate, including whether Love was supporting last year's federal government shutdown when she appeared at a rally for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in South Jordan.

Lee and other tea party leaders headed the fight against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that led to the shutdown. Owens said the shutdown was "an absolute breakdown and a disgrace" that polarized efforts to fix the health care law.

"And the theme continues," Love responded, describing herself as at the rally to support defunding Obamacare, not the shutdown. She said she wants to repeal the health care law and replace it with something more "free market."

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They also went back and forth over who collected the most money from Utahns. Love is far ahead in fundraising, with more than $4.6 million, while Owens' total is closer to $658,000. But the bulk of Love's donors are from outside Utah.

Owens said he refers to Love as extreme because her views "are not Utah views. Education is a strong Utah value." He said it was not a personal attack to spell out the distinctions between their positions on issues.

The son of the late Utah congressman Wayne Owens, Owens said he is running to get Congress working again.

"I think we've gotten to the point where we have got to get the best both parties have to offer," he said. "We have got to be Americans first and partisans second."

Love said the differences voters will see between the candidates are, "I'm going to talk about what I want to get done, and my opponent just continues to talk about what he doesn't like about me. Utah finds that extreme. I do, too."

In their closing statements, both candidates sought support from voters in Tuesday's election.

Owens promised to "take my Utah values to Washington and be an independent voice for Utah. I'll put those Utah hardworking families first in deciding how I'll vote on issues and what issues I'll work on."

Love, a former Saratoga Springs mayor, cited a speech by Ronald Reagan that said voters choose not between left or right at the polls but between "down or up, a choice between people and politics that will make us either slaves or make us free."

She said while President Barack Obama is not on the ballot, "his Goliath-sized policies are, and what Utahns deserve is someone who will boldly stand up and speak out against those policies."


I think we've gotten to the point where we have got to get the best both parties have to offer. We have got to be Americans first and partisans second.

–Doug Owens


Both candidates told reporters after the debate they felt they had performed well.

This was the third and final debate between Love and Owens. A May debate before the Utah Taxpayers Association turned confrontational as Owens challenged Love on what he called her extreme positions.

Their Utah Debate Commission debate, broadcast live on TV from the KUED studios on the University of Utah campus, was less contentious as both candidates largely stuck to their talking points.

Love has been consistently ahead in polling, though an online BYU poll released Monday gave Owens a slight lead. BYU pollsters said it should be seen only as showing the race is competitive.

The new UtahPolicy.com poll was conducted Monday through Wednesday, Jones said. A little more than 400 active voters were asked who they would vote for if the election was tomorrow. Six percent were undecided.

More than a third of respondents, 34 percent, said they had already voted. Early voting ends at 5 p.m. Friday.

Love's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, said the new poll differs from the campaign's internal polling that has her "pretty consistent between 9 or 10 points" ahead.

"We feel comfortable where things are," Hansen said.

Owens said the fact that the race is neck and neck despite his being outspent shows his message is resonating with voters.

"I feel a sense of momentum, and I'm very excited about it," he said. "It's absolutely winnable, and we'll pull it out of a hat."

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UtahPolitics
Lisa Riley Roche

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