Glenn Wright is running for Congress in the 3rd District, which includes southwest Summit County and part of Park City, and most of Wasatch County. The district also includes eastern Utah down to the state's southern border. It spans from Salt Lake County to San Juan County.
Republican John Curtis is the current representative of the 3rd District. Wright ran against Curtis last year. Wright said he was recruited at the last minute to run and didn’t get much of a chance to campaign, but this year, he’s ready.
Curtis has said he’s reconsidering running for Mitt Romney’s U.S. Senate seat after he said he would like to stay in the House of Representatives in October.
Wright was a member of the Summit County Council from 2016 to 2022. While part of the council, he was a representative with the Utah Association of Counties, which represents all 29 counties in the state. Wright said he formed good relationships with conservative county commissioners from all over the state. Some even supported him in his race against Curtis last year.
“Listening to your political opposition, and trying to understand their point of view leads to much better and more productive conversations on how to get things done,” Wright said.
One major issue he wants to focus on is how recent economic policies have affected middle-income Americans. He said tax cuts made by Republican policies have mostly benefited the rich.
“The latest Trump tax cut, someone in the lower 20% of income in the United States gained $2 to $4 per week from a tax cut," Wright said. "Whereas someone in the upper 1% was getting many, many thousands of dollars per week in additional revenue.”
He said this has affected people’s income and makes it more difficult to afford homes. In the ‘70s, he says someone could afford a home if they were in the 20 to 40 percentile range of income. Now, they need to be in the 70 to 75 percentile range.
“That's what's causing a lot of stress on everyone," Wright said. "Because for the most part, housing is about 30% of anybody's outlay on a year-to-year basis.”
Other issues Wright wants to highlight are women’s right to abortion and former President Donald Trump likely being nominated as the presidential candidate.
“Republicans will almost certainly nominate someone who's been indicted on charges of overthrowing a government and stealing classified material," he said. "I want to make it very clear that that type of person cannot be elected as President of the United States.”
Wright has also lived in eight different states and three foreign countries. He said his experience around the world is another strength, as it has given him a wider perspective of problems all over the U.S.
The general election for District 3 is on Nov. 5, 2024.
