Curtis defeated Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist from Park City, in a race that often centered around each candidate’s climate policies. The incoming senator leads the Conservative Climate Caucus on Capitol Hill and has developed a reputation for pushing back against party leaders such as Donald Trump who falsely claim that climate change is a hoax.
The former mayor of Provo began his political career as a county-level Democratic Party official. He is the longest-serving member of Utah’s U.S. House delegation and is viewed as a moderate in the manner of Romney.
Curtis, 64, has said he plans to carve out his own brand of conservatism in the post-Romney era of Utah politics, with a focus on bringing Republicans to the table on issues involving climate change. In the June primary, he emerged from a crowded pool of candidates to defeat a Trump-backed mayor. He said Tuesday night that he voted for Trump, sticking with his early pledge to vote for the ultimate Republican presidential nominee
He took the stage with his wife, children and grandchildren at a lively watch party Tuesday night in Provo, the city where he was once mayor, to speak to supporters after his victory.
“You elected me to legislate, to advocate and represent you. My agenda will be your agenda. My voice will lift your voice. My vote will reflect your values. And, together, will make Washington more like Utah.” Curtis said, adding, “I hope that you’ll see in my actions the dignity of working together and of unity. As Utah’s senator, I will make this model my mandate.”
His caucus takes a market-based approach to climate issues, countering Democratic policies with proposals that Curtis has said aim to lower emissions without compromising American jobs and economic principles. Gleich had accused him of pandering to the fossil fuel industry instead of supporting policies she said are needed to protect public lands, air and water.
The state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970.
Gleich congratulated Curtis in a statement while saying she was proud of the campaign she ran and looked forward to working with Curtis to help protect the environment.
“While the result was not what we had hoped, we focused on critical issues: climate action, public lands and reproductive freedom,” Gleich said.
Moderate Republicans tend to prevail in statewide elections in Utah. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who make up about half of the state’s 3.4 million residents, have been a reliably Republican voting bloc for decades. But many have been hesitant to embrace Trump and his allies, saying the former president’s brash style and comments about immigrants and refugees clash with their religious beliefs.