Karianne Lisonbee beat Blake Moore at Saturday's Utah Republican convention, but she's still a decided underdog in the 2nd Congressional District primary race. Moore, a three-term congressman and House GOP leadership team member, heads into the June 23 primary with $2.4 million in his campaign account. Lisonbee has roughly $150,000, a 16-to-1 margin.
So Lisonbee is doing what long-shot challengers do: she's demanding debates. Five of them, one in each county of Utah's 2nd Congressional District, on top of a televised face-off already scheduled for June 1.
"Republican primary voters deserve healthy debates and a side-by-side contrast before casting their votes in June," Lisonbee said in a news release. Moore's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
For a favored incumbent, multiple debates are high risk with little reward. Sharing a stage elevates her status, opens him up to direct attacks, and creates five more opportunities for an unforced error in front of a live audience. His massive cash advantage means Moore can flood TV and social media with targeted ads while staying on script.
Lisonbee’s gambit isn’t new. In 2023, Celeste Maloy challenged Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough to 13 debates in the special election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart. In 2024, Colby Jenkins tried the same tactic against Maloy, again proposing 13 debates.
Moore's team is also battle-tested. This is his fourth consecutive cycle heading to a primary after losing the convention delegate vote. He's 0-for-3 at convention and 3-for-3 in primaries. Lisonbee, by contrast, has faced a contested primary once, in 2018, and ran unopposed in 2024, 2022, and 2016.
The press release announcing the five-debate challenge omitted a contact phone number, instructing reporters instead to reach the campaign at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
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