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Trent Staggs touts convention win, Trump backing and ethics reforms on Utah County GOP podcast
Summary
On the Utah County Republican Party podcast, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs described his Senate campaign as an anti-establishment bid, highlighted his convention endorsement and national backers, criticized opponent John Curtis’s record and pledged ethics changes including a ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks.
On the Utah County Republican Party podcast, party vice chair and host Charles Maxwood interviewed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs about his U.S. Senate campaign and why voters should prefer him in the June 25 primary.
“I’m the only one in this race that’s been willing to challenge the establishment,” Staggs said, arguing that his record as mayor and his status as the state party’s convention nominee set him apart. He told listeners he was vetted by “4,000 delegates” and called that process representative of engaged Republicans across Utah.
Staggs listed several national conservative backers and said President Trump endorsed his campaign. “I’ve got a national coalition of conservative voices that have endorsed me like Mark Levin and Charlie Kirk,” he said, adding that Senators Rand Paul and others have also offered support.
He contrasted his candidacy with that of Rep. John Curtis, saying Curtis has taken positions Staggs described as out of step with Trump-aligned Republicans. “He voted for the January 6 committee, supported the impeachment inquiry, censured Trump on the House floor and still won’t endorse him to this day,” Staggs said. Those characterizations are assertions by Staggs and are presented here as his statements.
Staggs criticized outside spending in the primary, saying his campaign has raised about $1.3–$1.4 million while opponents have benefited from tens of millions in outside dollars; he singled out climate-related super PAC money backing Curtis as a concern about outside influence.
Staggs also recounted actions he took as Riverton mayor during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he publicly refused to enforce some Salt Lake County lockdown and mask orders and told his police department not to prosecute gatherings he considered unconstitutional. “When the mask mandate came down … the headline was ‘Riverton mayor says mask mandate is heavy-handed, will not enforce,’” he said.
On policy, Staggs proposed several government-ethics changes he said he would push in the Senate: banning members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks, pursuing a balanced-budget amendment, and preventing retiring lawmakers from immediately becoming lobbyists. He cited existing proposals in Congress as models and said the measures would reduce conflicts of interest.
Maxwood used the interview to describe a local ground game, the Utah County “2551 Challenge” (25 doors, five flyers, one sign), urging volunteers to ask voters whether they plan to vote in the primary and whom they support.
The podcast closed with Staggs thanking the Utah County party and noting the primary will be held June 25. No formal endorsements or votes took place during the recording.
(Reporter note: quotations and characterizations above are attributed to Trent Staggs and Charles Maxwood as they appear in the podcast.)
