The end of an hourlong debate between four Republican candidates running for Utah’s open Senate seat got heated when one candidate insinuated that another was guilty of insider trading.
Riverton, Utah, Mayor Trent Staggs levied an accusation of insider trading against Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
“On March 4 of 2020, Abbott Laboratories was awarded a federal grant. On that same day, John Curtis purchased stock in that company. This is the problem in Congress. At a time when somebody should be looking out for their constituents, they end up looking out for their own profit,” Staggs said during his closing remarks on Monday night.
Curtis, who is in the lead in an average of recent polling, faced Staggs along with former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and Jason Walton in a debate on Monday. The four candidates are competing to replace Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who announced his retirement last year. The congressman was able to respond to the attack in the final moments of the debate.
“You’ve accused me of a felony here tonight. You better have very good evidence. And I’d like to challenge you to produce that evidence,” Curtis said, speaking to Staggs. “If that’s how you’re going to work in the Senate, the people of Utah will be very disappointed.”
Curtis pushed back against Staggs’s comments during a post-debate press conference with reporters.
“That was a cheap shot. I think the thing that’s unfortunate about it is Mr. Staggs, his whole campaign is about the dirtiness of Washington and how he’s going to fix that. I think he really showed his hand,” the congressman said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Staggs repeated his accusations when he spoke to reporters following the debate.
“I wasn’t accusing him of a felony. What I said is on the same day the company was given a grant, he traded stock. I think that’s a problem. I think it’s problematic that members of Congress are allowed to do this,” Staggs said.
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The race in the safe Republican state is expected to be a litmus test of Trump’s influence in Utah. Curtis is the only candidate who had not endorsed Trump’s reelection bid directly, but he has said he has pledged to support the party’s nominee.
The winner of the Republican Senate primary will face Democrat Caroline Gleich, an environmental activist, in November.
