Utah’s newly retooled university-run debate series hit its first speed bump, prompting a last-minute moderator swap for two Republican congressional primary debates set for Monday.
Natalie Gochnour, director of the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, had been slated to moderate the 2nd District Republican primary between Rep. Blake Moore and state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee on Monday evening.
Former journalist Glen Mills, originally assigned to the 3rd District Republican debate between Rep. Celeste Maloy and Phil Lyman, will now handle Moore–Lisonbee.
A Hinckley Institute of Politics spokesperson, which oversees the debates with Utah Valley University’s Herbert Institute, said the shuffle was necessary because Gochnour had a scheduling conflict. Former Utah GOP chair Thomas Wright is now set to moderate the Monday afternoon event.
But sources with knowledge tell Utah Political Watch that Lisonbee’s campaign objected to Gochnour because the Boyer Company is a major Gardner Institute sponsor.
Moore is married to Jane Boyer. Her father, Roger Boyer, founded and is chairman of the Boyer Company.
Last year, the Republican-controlled Legislature rejected a funding request from the independent Utah Debate Commission and instead appropriated $600,000 to shift responsibility to the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute and Utah Valley University’s Herbert Institute.
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