Utah
In Utah gubernatorial debate, expected fireworks fizzle
Moderation prevailed in Tuesday’s gubernatorial Republican primary debate as Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and state Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, centered their rhetoric around policy — a departure from Cox’s rowdy reception at state convention and Lyman’s aggressive online campaign messaging.
During the hour-long debate, which Cox cheerfully called “boring,” the first-term governor listed what he considers his legislative achievements, identified his biggest regret and noted the absence of fiery rhetoric coming from his challenger.
“Campaigns bring out the worst in people. We’ve certainly seen that with my opponent’s campaign,” Cox said following the debate hosted by the Utah Debate Commission.
The governor, who has championed “Disagree Better” as chairman of the National Governor’s Association, said he has tried to run a positive campaign this year like he did four years ago.
“It’s so much easier to lie and tear your opponent down,” Cox said. “I’m sad that my opponent has done it — he didn’t do it tonight, he didn’t do it to my face, but he apparently is willing to say and do anything to tear down and get elected.”
Lyman, who has represented southeastern Utah for six years in the state legislature, said the event’s format made the debate more “tame from what would probably be more in my comfort zone.”
Lyman has accused Cox of failing to take a bolder stand on issues like transgenderism, illegal migration and centralizing authority to state government on local issues.
“We see things very differently,” Lyman said following the debate, which was moderated by KUER assistant news director Caroline Ballard. “I’m a bottom-up kind of power dynamic person. Cox is very much a top-down power dynamic person. I think the comparisons is stark.”
Lyman defeated Cox 67.5% to 32.5% in the April GOP convention among 4,000 delegates, many of whom greeted Cox with boos before making him the first signature-gathering incumbent not to meet the party’s 40% threshold at convention since a signature route was established 10 years ago, according to former GOP party chairman Spencer Stokes.
Cox, who is running for his second term in office, is among the most popular governors in the nation. A recent Deseret News-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found Cox with 62% support among registered Republican voters and Lyman with 25% ahead of the June 25 primary election.
Where do Cox and Lyman stand on housing and immigration?
The governor, who previously served as lieutenant governor under Gary Herbert for seven years, touted tax cuts, abortion restrictions, and investments in public education and school choice as highlights from his first four years. But it is the issue of housing affordability that Cox said carried both his biggest win and regret.
After three years of passing dozens of bills meant to increase the supply of starter homes in Utah, “none of them really made a dent,” Cox lamented. But he said he hopes recent legislative wins will reverse that pattern.
“This is the single most important issue in our state,” Cox said at the top of the debate. “This past session, we worked tirelessly with legislators to pass the most comprehensive housing reform in the United States.”
This year, Cox’s administration led out on a package of regulatory reforms to make it easier for homebuilders and municipalities to construct smaller, cheaper single-family homes, including a bill that would give discount loans to lending institutions that backed affordable housing projects.
Lyman said these policy goals were evidence of Cox’s big government tendencies.
“This is the comforting method we like to tell ourselves, that the government is going to fix this problem,” Lyman said.
Lyman said the best thing the state can do is get out of the way. It is regulations coming out of Salt Lake City that have created incentives for developers to stay away from affordable housing projects, Lyman said. “And throwing money at it is not going to fix the problem.”
Lyman levied this same criticism at the current administration’s approach to water management, attracting out-of-state business and subsidizing expensive sports stadiums. The two candidates voiced their agreement on Utah Fits All scholarships, federal overreach on public lands and abortion being a state issue.
But Lyman said he would do more to address illegal immigration in the state then Utah’s current executive.
“Our policies make us a magnet for illegal immigration, you can see by the numbers,” Lyman said. “And not only that, our policies make us a magnet for non-citizens with criminal intent because of the way that we treat the retention of illegals. We’ve got to take more aggressive stance.”
Lyman said he would flout Biden administration rules that make it difficult to detain migrants in local jails and called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase deportations.
Cox placed the blame for increased immigration levels on Biden policies that have made it so that “every state is a border state.”
What is Utah’s brand?
Despite the “Disagree Better” tone of the debate, the candidates diverged on the need for “aggressive rhetoric” in achieving policy successes.
“I’m very proud to be a conservative Utahn,” Cox said. “But I also believe the way we do things matter. … Our state gets judged by the way that I conduct myself.”
A commitment to treating political opponents with “dignity and respect” is key to Utah’s “brand,” which also includes leading the country in the strength of its economy and communities, Cox said.
But elevating civility above all else ignores the threats Utah faces from “external forces who are not using fair tactics to try to take away what belongs to us,” Lyman said.
“They’re trying to lock up our energy. They’re trying to lock up our land. Trying to shut down or industries. They sue our counties. They go after our people. They raid the homes of our people. They have hurt people’s lives,” Lyman said. “I’m not against polite words, but there’s a point where we have to use aggressive rhetoric.”
WEST JORDAN, Utah — The Utah National Guard has been serving the state since 1894 with roots dating back to the Minutemen of the 17th-century American colonies.
This weekend, they received quite the boost in the form of the Army’s most advanced attack helicopter.
“These aircraft are extremely fast compared to our other aircraft,” said Col. Patrick.
On Saturday, the Utah National Guard took their new Apache helicopters for a spin.
“The flight went better than we could have hoped for. A little weather on the east coast, but after that, it wasn’t bad at all,” Patrick said.
The first four of 24 Apaches arrived early Saturday morning after they went under full inspection.
“They’ve got software on there that it’s like playing a video game. You just fly the video game and the airplane… is fast and smooth, which is the good thing, and so it’ll just hold the altitude and airspeed and just keep on trucking along. It’s pretty good,” Patrick said.
The first Apache helicopters arrived in Utah back in 1992.
“It just continues the legacy of the air pirates and what we bring to not only Utah, but really to the global fight and security, really,” Patrick added.
The colonel calls it a major step forward.
“What a great day for Utah as we advance into the next couple decades of combat operations and what we can provide to, you know, the global security.”
The depth continues to be tested as the bodies keep dropping out of the lineup up front. Tonight, a resilient Maple Leafs team is seeking its fourth consecutive win as Alex Nylander debuts on an all-Marlies line against a tired 8-9-2 Utah Hockey Club (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Utah
In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Utah holds the advantage in three out of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on what he learned from the pre-scout of Utah’s 6-1 win over Pittsburgh last night:
The power play was good. They got three. They’re fast, and they have a lot of skill. They make a lot of plays — a lot of west-west plays — and get up the ice really well. Their D are involved.
We have to check well tonight. We have to stay out of the penalty box. Our PK is going to be important.
Overall, we need to take time and space away from this team right out of the offensive zone. Be hard on them breaking plays up. That will be very important tonight.
Berube on the decision to start Joseph Woll over Anthony Stolarz tonight:
[Woll] had a really good game against Vegas. We are just thinking ahead here. Stolly has played a lot. We have some time here. He is working in practice and doing a lot of good things.
That’s really it. We just talk about things and make decisions on what we think is best for the goalies and the team.
I talked earlier about how both goalies are going to see more net than they have in the past. It is important that we manage it to the best of our abilities.
Woll is coming off a real solid game against a real good team. We wanted to go back with him.
Berube on what improvements he is looking for from his team offensively after a week of practice:
Attacking more than we are. There are times when we tend to just control the play a little bit too much on the outside. We could attack more with more shots to the net, get pucks low to high, and do more on-and-off shooting while getting people to the net with numbers around there.
Resets to the back of the net, making quick plays out of there, doing things a little bit quicker, moving it quicker, supporting it quicker, and getting more pucks to the net than we are.
Berube on why Fraser Minten is so trustworthy despite his lack of experience:
It goes back to a great draft pick, finding a player who is so responsible at a young age. You guys aren’t on the bench, but just hearing him talk on the bench and how he sees the game, he says all the right things.
You don’t see young guys do that very often. He is already doing it at a very young age with very little experience. It is great to see. It’s refreshing. It really is.
Minten on the keys to success for his line with Nikita Grebenkin and Alex Nylander:
We just have to be simple with pucks and forecheck, using our speed to get pucks back on the forecheck. From there, let the skill make things happen. Those guys are really good when they get it back, so we have to make sure we are forechecking hard to retrieve pucks, and we’ll go from there.
Minten on the keys to success in the net-front role on the top power-play unit:
Try not to overcomplicate it too much. Get the goalie’s eyes, get in sight lines, try to get pucks back, get some tips, get some screens, and cause a little chaos. You can draw a defender with you. If you’re going backdoor, you give them a little more space. Be ready for anything coming to you. They are great players, so just try to read off of them, and hopefully, it goes well.
Minten on his experience level in front of the net on the power play:
In junior, I was mostly a flank guy with the puck more, but last year, I kind of got into it more at the end of the year, and I have been playing that role with the Marlies every game so far this year.
Minten on Morgan Rielly’s guidance at the NHL level:
He has been amazing. We have a lot in common, being from the same place. He took me under his wing a little bit and has been super nice. It makes it easy when you are coming in at 18 or 19 and there is a guy who comes to talk to you and is a really nice, supportive guy and friend. He has been awesome.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#89 Nick Robertson— #29 Pontus Holmberg — #88 William Nylander
#71 Nikita Grebenkin — #39 Fraser Minten — #92 Alex Nylander
#46 Alex Steeves — #24 Connor Dewar — #18 Steven Lorentz
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: Jani Hakanpää, Philippe Myers
Suspended: Ryan Reaves (four games remaining)
Injured (IR): Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Matthew Knies
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Mermis, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf
Utah Hockey Club Projected Lines
Forwards
#9 Clayton Keller — #27 Barrett Hayton — #8 Nick Schmaltz
#22 Jack McBain — #92 Logan Cooley — #11 Dylan Guenther
#63 Matias Maccelli — #17 Nick Bjugstad — #67 Lawson Course
#15 Alex Kerfoot — #82 Kevin Stenlund — #53 Michael Carcone
Defensemen
#98 Mikhail Sergachev — #2 Olli Maata
#28 Ian Cole — #10 Maveric Lamoureux
#7 Michael Kesselring — #41 Robert Bortuzzo
Goaltenders
Starter: #70 Karel Vejmelka
Jayson Stauber
Injured: Sean Durzi, John Marino, Connor Ingram
Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There is one game on the schedule for Sunday, which will be televised nationally in the United States and Canada.
Game of the day
Utah Hockey Club at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN4, NHLN, Utah16)
Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares have all stepped up for the Maple Leafs (12-6-2) in the absence of captain Auston Matthews and look to continue the trend against Utah (8-9-3) at Scotiabank Arena. Marner has 12 points (four goals, eight assists), Nylander nine points (four goals, five assists) and Tavares eight points (four goals, four assists) in the seven games without Matthews, who is out with an upper-body injury. Toronto has won three in a row and is 6-1-0 without Matthews, who skated prior to practice Saturday and said he could return from an upper-body injury this upcoming week. Marner leads Toronto with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 20 games and has points in six of the seven games Matthews has missed. Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Wall made 31 saves in a 3-0 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday for his first shutout of the season and second in the NHL. Utah is playing the second game of a back-to-back for the first time in team history and will look to build on a 6-1 win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist, and Clayton Keller had three assists, helping Utah end a three-game losing streak. Goalie Jaxson Stauber could make his Utah debut after being recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League on Wednesday; the 25-year-old has not played an NHL game since Feb. 22, 2023, with the Chicago Blackhawks. No. 1 goalie Connor Ingram has missed the past two games with an upper-body injury.
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