Oct. 2, 2024, 2:33 p.m.
Rep. John Curtis has represented Utah’s 3rd Congressional District since 2017 and is the Republican nominee to replace Sen. Mitt Romney in November. During his tenure in the House, Curtis served as chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus, pushing an all-of-the-above approach while working to find clean-energy solutions. Curtis spoke with Lauren Green about how he will campaign for the next six weeks leading up to the election, the top priorities on his legislative agenda if he wins in November, why he wants to serve Utahans, and the fashion sense he would bring to the Senate. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What made you want to represent the people of Utah?
I tell you what, all you need to do is drive down any main street in Utah and you know these are good people. In many cases they're struggling, and this is a hard time, and it's just an amazing honor to be selected to represent them. I'm very excited [if I am] selected to represent them.
What are your campaign plans for the six weeks leading up to the election?
My state is huge, and so we're driving. First, this next week we go down to the southern part of the state, spend three days down there. We'll be going top to bottom, making sure people understand our message.
If you were to win in November, what legislative priorities would you bring to the Senate? What members would you like to work with on these priorities?
Everybody in Utah wants to talk about the border. Everybody in Utah wants to talk about inflation, the economy, and energy is a big deal. We feel like we have good answers and good proposals in all those areas, especially the energy sector. And permitting reform is a really big deal in Utah.
There's no better partner than [Democratic Rep.] Scott Peters from San Diego. We really have enjoyed working with him. And over on the Senate side, we have a companion bill with [Democratic] Senator [Chris] Coons and lots of good members involved in this.
What do you hope to get done during the lame-duck session?
Lame-duck—let's face it, if we don't have serious conversations, we're going to end up with an omnibus [spending bill]. So if I had a magic wand, we would figure out some budgeting solutions.
Speaking of spending bills, how do you think Speaker Mike Johnson has handled this and the rest of his speakership over the past year?
Speaker Johnson's the real deal. He's genuine, he's humble, and I think he does a very good job.
Do you see yourself as more of a compromising figure, like Senator Mitt Romney, or a hard-liner like Senator Mike Lee?
I was frequently asked this. That was the single biggest question in the campaign. And when asked, I would smile and say, "If you expect me to be Mitt Romney, I'm going to disappoint you, and if you expect me to be Mike Lee, I'm going to disappoint you." Just uniquely different than both of them.
The good news is, my constituents have seen me for seven years. I like to get things done, and my team likes to get things done. So we're going to the Senate with a mind-set of we're going to work hard representing Utah and we're going to see if we can move the needle on really important issues.
How do you plan to carve your own path?
I think, No. 1, don't try to be them—try to be me. And to the extent that I'm able to be me, I think I will be more successful. They have their subject-matters expertise and I have mine. They have their styles and I have mine. And I think the important thing for me and my team is to focus on our strengths and what's made us successful in the House and take that over to the Senate.
As someone known for good suits and fun socks, what fashion do you hope to bring to the Senate?
So listen, this is a thing—I would spend a lot of time on that. I purchased my first navy and charcoal suits in a very long time and some shoes. You'll notice that they're a little bit more traditional shoes, so I'm not going to buck any fashion trends. We'll work hard, and then we'll just pull out a little John Curtis fashion as they’re ready for it.
We’ll break them in slowly. We had a fun interaction with one of the senators where I gave him some socks, and his first thing was, “I'm going to re-gift these; I will never wear these.” I told him, “Look, it's a personal challenge. By the time six years is over, you'll be wearing my socks.”
