Utah Public Radio published this article in collaboration with the Sanpete Messenger as part of its election coverage.
Sanpete County voters will choose among four candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Nov. 3 election. The winner will represent Sanpete County and surrounding counties in Washington, D.C. for the next two years.
Republican Mike Kennedy, Democrat Jonny Larsen, Libertarian Taylor Wright and unaffiliated candidate Steven Burt are competing for Utah's 4th Congressional District seat.
The race follows a court-ordered redrawing of Utah's congressional boundaries that placed Sanpete County in a district covering a substantial portion of western and central Utah.
The new 4th District includes all of Sanpete, Juab, Millard, Sevier and Tooele counties, along with portions of Salt Lake and Utah counties.
The district's current representative, Republican Burgess Owens, announced in March that he would not seek reelection. Kennedy, who currently represents Utah's 3rd Congressional District, is seeking election in the newly configured 4th District.
Mike Kennedy, Republican
Kennedy is completing his first term in Congress. He previously served in both the Utah House of Representatives and Utah Senate. He also practiced family medicine in Utah County for more than two decades. Kennedy and his wife, Katrina, live in Utah County.
Kennedy earned a medical degree from Michigan State University and studied law at Brigham Young University, subsequently becoming an attorney. His campaign says he also helped operate a small business and volunteered medical services for uninsured families.
His campaign emphasizes reducing federal spending, lowering household costs, increasing domestic energy production and strengthening border enforcement.
Kennedy supports reducing taxes on certain forms of income, including tips and overtime, along with expanding tax credits and deductions intended to benefit working families.
He also advocates stronger congressional oversight of federal agencies, restrictions on government spending and term limits for members of Congress.
On energy issues, Kennedy favors reducing federal permitting requirements. His approach draws on oil, natural gas, nuclear and geothermal energy, along with other available sources.
Public lands and natural resource management also figure into his priorities. Kennedy supports reducing federal restrictions that he argues impede economic development and access to Utah's resources.
Healthcare remains another focus of his campaign. Drawing on his experience as a physician, Kennedy advocates policies intended to support rural hospitals, expand telehealth services and provide patients with more control over healthcare spending.
His campaign also emphasizes immigration enforcement, combating drug trafficking and human trafficking, protecting gun rights, opposing abortion and supporting parental involvement in decisions affecting children.
Kennedy has promoted his congressional work on wildfire prevention, energy development and healthcare legislation. His campaign identifies those efforts as accomplishments of his first term, although its broader claims about legislative results were not independently established in the research provided for this article.
Jonny Larsen, Democrat
Larsen, a Marine Corps veteran who served from 2000 to 2004, is running as a Democrat in the 4th District.
According to his campaign biography, Larsen enlisted at 17, served as an infantry rifleman and reached the rank of sergeant. He says his military service included two deployments to Iraq.
Larsen describes himself as a Blue Dog Democrat, a term associated with moderate, fiscally conservative Democrats. He emphasizes cooperation between political parties on issues where lawmakers share common ground.
His campaign centers on reducing costs for working families, improving healthcare access, supporting veterans and protecting public lands.
Larsen says his personal experiences helped shape those priorities. His campaign biography describes being raised by his grandmother, and credits her pension, Medicare and Social Security benefits with providing financial stability.
He supports maintaining those programs and argues that the government should do more to help working families and seniors.
He calls for expanding rural healthcare access, reducing prescription drug costs and increasing accountability for health insurance companies.
His campaign specifically identifies Sanpete County among rural communities where he believes veterans need improved access to Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare services.
On agriculture and public lands, Larsen supports farmers and ranchers while opposing the transfer of federally managed public lands into private ownership.
He also supports measures intended to reduce housing and childcare expenses.
His housing proposals include protecting first-time homebuyers and restricting corporate purchases of single-family homes for investment purposes.
Larsen opposes trade policies that he says raise costs for consumers and businesses, including tariffs affecting everyday purchases and agricultural equipment.
Taylor Wright, Libertarian
Wright is campaigning on individual freedom, reduced federal authority and free-market economics.
His campaign presents decentralizing political power as a central objective, with more decisions made by the people and communities directly affected.
Wright is a physical education teacher who also works with adults who have special needs. He connects that experience to his belief that individuals should have greater control over decisions affecting their lives.
Wright advocates limiting federal bureaucracy and strengthening constitutional restrictions on government power.
He argues that the federal government has accumulated responsibilities that should rest with states, local communities and individuals.
He also calls for Congress to exercise stronger oversight of the executive branch, particularly regarding military operations and the authority to conduct war.
On economic issues, Wright supports free markets and opposes tariffs. His campaign argues that tariffs interfere with competition and increase costs for consumers.
Wright favors reducing government intervention in economic decisions and allowing businesses and individuals greater freedom to participate in markets.
While supporting military defense when necessary, Wright argues that the United States should avoid foreign conflicts that do not directly serve national security interests.
Steven Burt, Unaffiliated
Burt is running without a political party affiliation, positioning himself as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic candidates.
Burt was born and raised in South Jordan, where he says he continues to live with his family. He has practiced law for nearly 20 years and has specialized in the solar energy industry.
Burt says he has also provided volunteer legal services, particularly involving immigration matters.
Burt argues that representatives should concentrate on their constituents' needs rather than political party loyalty.
He identifies the rising cost of living and the gap between household incomes and expenses as his principal economic concerns.
His campaign calls for restoring economic opportunities that allow working Americans to afford housing and maintain financial stability, although his published materials provide limited details about federal legislation he would pursue.
Burt supports constitutional limits on government authority, separation of powers, federalism and the rule of law.
Immigration reform is another prominent issue in his campaign. Burt has criticized current federal immigration enforcement practices and called for changing the priorities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE.
Rather than eliminating the agency, he advocates concentrating its enforcement efforts on dangerous criminals while reforming the broader immigration system.
Burt has criticized the two-party political system and argues that unaffiliated representatives can place greater emphasis on constituents rather than party organizations.
Issues facing the district
The district, with its combination of rural counties and more populated communities along the Wasatch Front, poses several concerns before its next representative.
Agriculture, public land management, water resources, transportation, healthcare access and federal spending are among the issues that can directly affect Sanpete County residents.
The four candidates approach those concerns from different perspectives.
Kennedy emphasizes reducing federal restrictions, expanding domestic energy production and limiting government spending.
Larsen focuses on healthcare and veterans' services, working-family expenses and keeping public lands under public ownership.
Burt emphasizes economic opportunity, constitutional principles, immigration reform and representation independent of political parties.
Wright advocates reducing federal authority, expanding individual choice, supporting free markets and limiting military intervention.
