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SALT LAKE CITY — Running for U.S. Senate might be the least surprising thing on Caroline Gleich's resume.
At 38, Gleich's career is a blend between professional skier, outdoor advocate, environmental lobbyist and online influencer — which has taken her from the halls of Capitol Hill to the top of the Himalayas.
In 2017, she became the first woman to ski all 90 lines of the Wasatch Mountains' infamous "Chuting Gallery." Now, as the Democratic nominee to replace Sen. Mitt Romney, Gleich's eyes are set on becoming the first female senator from Utah and the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate.
It would be an understatement to call this an uphill battle. The Beehive State hasn't elected a Democrat to Congress' upper chamber since 1970. And recent polls show Gleich's Republican opponent, 3rd District congressman John Curtis, with a lead of more than 30 percentage points. But this wouldn't be the first time she was told a peak was too high for her to climb, Gleich said.
"I've taken on challenges where I had a low probability of success before and I've defied expectations," Gleich told the combined editorial boards of Deseret News and KSL on Monday.
Despite espousing traditional Democratic talking points on top Republican issues in Utah, Gleich sees a pathway to victory on the same trail that led her to politics: disillusionment with the Republican Party and a commitment to protecting Utah's natural beauty.
Where does Caroline Gleich stand on the issues?
Gleich said she believes she is the candidate best prepared to help address the "climate crisis." Over the last decade, Gleich has lobbied congressional lawmakers on "clean energy bills," including the massive Inflation Reduction Act, with organizations like Protect Our Winters, American Alpine Club and the Sierra Club.
If elected to the Senate, Gleich told the Deseret News in a previous interview she would support phasing out federal subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and would support investments to overhaul the energy grid, expand public transportation and produce more electric vehicles.
"We need to accelerate our transition to clean renewable energy," Gleich said during the editorial board meeting.
But on issues like the "border crisis " or the "debt crisis," Gleich has said very little. Her website does not mention immigration, the border, federal deficits, national debt or inflation. The economy and immigration consistently rank as the top concerns across the country, particularly among Republicans, who make up the majority of registered voters in Utah.
In her editorial board interview, Gleich said the federal government should not be spending more than it brings in, and said she would go through the budget with a "fine tooth comb" to find places to cut. But she couldn't name a specific spending item she would cut to balance the budget. Instead, Gleich said Congress should increase taxes on billionaires, allow Trump's corporate tax cuts to expire and close tax loopholes to increase revenue.
To address the rising cost of living, Gleich proposed policies that she said reflected Utah's "family values." These include paid parental leave, universal pre-kindergarten, federal subsidies for childcare, tax breaks for elder care and regulations that prohibit companies from terminating employment contracts because an employee decides to have a child.
"Our policy platform is built on advocating for Utah families, for our freedom and for our future," Gleich said. "And as someone living in Utah, 38 years old, that has built my career in this really untraditional way, I want more young people to be able to live the American dream that I have been able to live."
A top Utah issue Gleich said she would prioritize in the Senate is housing. Gleich supports more tax credits for first-time homebuyers and homeowners who want to build an "Accessory Dwelling Unit" on their property. Gleich supports recent housing programs proposed by the Kamala Harris campaign that would provide $25,000 toward a downpayment for first-time homebuyers and tax credits for home builders.
As someone who started her career as a cashier at REI, Gleich says she is more in touch with the struggles of the working class than other politicians. Gleich supports a $15 federal minimum wage, as well as more vigorous anti-trust policies to halt large corporate mergers that she says decrease competition, increase income inequality and hurt workers.
Gleich is staunchly pro-choice and has said she will vote against a national abortion ban. Gleich said she does not support the transfer of any public land to the state of Utah because she fears it would be sold to private organizations.
