Meet the candidate: Rep. Blake Moore running for re-election in Utah’s 1st Congressional District

As Election Day nears, KSL NewsRadio is interviewing candidates to get their stance on today’s issues. Keep an eye on our election coverage as we continue to speak to the 2024 General Election candidates.

SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Blake Moore, R-Ut, is the Republican candidate for re-election in Utah’s 1st Congressional District. Moore attended Utah State University and the University of Utah. He received his master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University. 

Rep. Moore spoke with KSL At Night hosts Adam Gardiner and Leah Murray on Oct. 22, 2024. A partial transcript and the full podcast are below.

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KSL NewsRadio has edited this interview for brevity and clarity.

HOST ADAM GARDINER:  Talk to us about your work on the federal budget, is there hope for America?

GUEST, REP. BLAKE MOORE:  … The only thing you hear about is the appropriations process. Well, 50 years ago … appropriations made up … close to 80% of the budget. Today it only represents a paltry 22% of our budget.

Medicaid, TANF, SNAP, Social Security, Medicare — these programs are enacted for the right reasons. They get put on what’s called the mandatory budget side, and they get stuck in autopilot, and you never vote on them annually.

This inaction on our budget is the biggest problem. … So [the House Committee on the Budget] passed the Fiscal Commission Act. It’s basically a debt commission that would force a vote on the House floor. … it’s basically been stymied because far left-leaning groups have started to attack it. Right leaning groups have started to attack it. And members and leadership got scared to move forward with it. 

Rep. Blake Moore on talking about the budget to constituents

HOST LEAH MURRAY: When you are campaigning on these issues, do you feel like it is landing with voters at all?

MOORE:  Most everybody runs a family budget, or they run a budget in their business, or they’ve been responsible for something. When you explain to them that we have a problem, [and] in order to solve it, you only get to look at 25% of the budget … that’s unheard of to a business owner.  

But if you just say the word ‘Medicare,’ then everybody’s like, ‘no, you’re gonna cut Medicare. You’re like every other Republican I’ve ever heard of.’ I’m like, ‘no, that’s actually not true, but sure that 30-second sound bite that you heard on a political ad somewhere, you can go ahead and believe that. Or I’m gonna live in the real world and explain the real issue.

GARDINER:  With [former President] Trump at the top of the ticket, has said he won’t support any abortion ban. Does that change conservative Republicans view on being pro life? Can you set the stage here for what’s next for Republicans on pro-life issues?

MOORE:  [Former President Trump] has actually been very clear and consistent. He says, ‘look, it’s a state issue.’ That’s why the Supreme Court made the rulings that it did. This needs to be done at the state level, and I think that is going to be the way forward for the foreseeable future.

That’s federalism, that’s constitutional, that’s [the] Tenth Amendment. We believe in that more than we believe in almost anything, that more things should be handled at the state level. That’s not a cop-out, but I do believe that’s the way that we’re going to be dealing with it for the foreseeable future.

Please listen to the interview in its entirety, below.

Related: Meet the candidate: Bill Campbell, Democrat, Utah’s 1st Congressional District

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