Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Owens Says He's a Good Democrat for 4th District Election Race

Judy Fahys
/
KUER News

Utah Democrats in the 4th Congressional District chose Doug Owens  to run against Republican Mia Love.

Owens says he’s ready to take on Love in November. The 4th District already knows Mia Love from her 2012 race against Democrat Jim Matheson, who’s retiring after this term. Owens contends his Republican opponent is courting the national GOP, while his views are more in line with 4th District voters.

“I think I represent those values better than she does,” Owens said. “I’m going to be taking that case to the people and knocking doors and raising money to get our message out to do that. This is not going to be a walkaway for the other side at all. This has been a Democratic district, and this’ll be a serious fight.”

Owens captured 98 percent of the vote. His opponent at Saturday’s Democratic State Party Convention was retired mechanical engineer Bill Peterson.  

Credit Judy Fahys / KUER News
/
KUER News
Bill Peterson lost his bid to be the Democratic party's nominee in the 4th congressional district.

Peterson’s top campaign issue was balancing trade and reforming the national government on track.

“I thought they would be more interested in what I was saying and have more feeling for it,” said Peterson

Utah’s 4th Congressional District has attracted national attention from both parties. It is the state’s only seat in Congress that’s held by a Democrat, and one that Republicans have targeted as winnable.

Judy Fahys has reported in Utah for two decades, covering politics, government and business before taking on environmental issues. She loves covering Utah, where petroleum-pipeline spills, the nation’s radioactive legacy and other types of pollution provide endless fodder for stories. Previously, she worked for the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and reported on the nation’s capital for States News Service and the Scripps League newspaper chain. She is a longtime member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She also spent an academic year as a research fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys being out in the environment, especially hiking, gardening and watercolor painting.
KUER is listener-supported public radio. Support this work by making a donation today.