From left, Katrina Fallick-Wang, Democrat, and Rep. Burgess Owens, Republican, participate in the 4th Congressional District debate at the Eccles Broadcast Center on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.
On many points, two of the candidates running for Utah's 4th Congressional District found common ground on the debate stage. But when there were clashes, they were strident, especially when it came to LGBTQ+ issues, abortion and school choice programs.
In their debate Thursday evening put on by the Utah Debate Commission on the University of Utah campus, Democratic candidate Katrina Fallick-Wang, who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a mom, faced Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens, who has been in his seat since 2021. In one moment, Fallick-Wang's voice broke while speaking about her sixth-grade transgender child and his ability to play sports in school.
"I understand the conversation at a high level with sports, but with little children, it's hampering their future," Fallick Wang said while looking directly at Owens, who had just expressed concerns about what he described as "this next step of trans."
For Owens, the conversation around transgender issues doesn't make sense to some people.
The issue, Owens said, becomes more problematic "when all sudden you can't define what a man is, what a woman is, when you have men that are competing against women, when you have to talk to our kids that are literally 5 or 6 years old about transitioning, when you can't go to a school without having this indoctrination of sex which should not belong in these areas."
Later, Fallick-Wang told reporters that the conversation in Utah should center more on caring for transgender community members.
"Nobody is out here choosing to be trans. It's incredibly hard. It's hard. It's a hard, hard life. Men are not out here saying they want to wear dresses so they can play women's basketball, like, that's just not happening," Fallick-Wang said. "We have young people and even older people who are just trying to live their authentic selves. And that's America, right? That's freedom."
Owens -- a former NFL safety whose career included a Super Bowl win with the Oakland Raiders -- said the discussion should instead focus on fairness, as he believes sex differences in sports create an unfair competition.
When asked about whether he would support a national ban of biological boys' participation in girls' sports, he said he would.
"Any of us who studied science, who has ever competed, we all understand that difference," Owens said. "My biggest concern is when we get to the point where young men think it's OK to beat up on women, to want to beat women, to compete against women, take their trophies, take their honors, and leave them depressed and demoralized because they worked so hard to get to that point."
However, Owens' doesn't support a national ban in another controversial issue that has divided voters in several elections -- abortion.
Decisions on abortion shouldn't be in the hands of the federal government, Owen said. The decades-long precedent of Roe v. Wade, a former U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision that protected the constitutional right to an abortion, was "an overreach," he said.
"We, the people, are part of the solution, and not some bureaucrat or some justice in D.C. that mandates everything for all of us. So we totally agree on that," Owens said during the debate. "Let it go down to the states. Let us have a chance to talk about it. And if we don't like what the state has, guess what, we can always move."
Fallick-Wang, who described abortion as life-saving health care, also rejects a national ban, and would support a federal right to abortion care. Decisions should be left to doctors, who know what's best for patients, she said.
"The federal government does not have any place in my doctor's office. It does not have any place in my bedroom. It does not have any place in my bathroom," she said. "That is, I feel, a huge overreach."
In Utah, abortion has remained legal for up to 18 weeks of gestation, while a near-total ban passed by the Utah Legislature remains on hold. Lawmakers have expressed interest in dropping the state's legal abortion window to 6 weeks.
Another point of contention was the "Utah Fits All" school choice voucher program, which is being challenged in court by the state's largest teacher union.
Owens described the program as a bolder way to provide opportunities for children to think and to succeed according to their talents.
"Every parent should be able to take a look at their child, see what their talent is, what their interest is, and find the best way for them to find their dreams," Owens said. "And anybody who stands against that, we need to know they're not a friend of the American society, the American culture, the American way."
A vote to amend the Utah Constitution to remove the state's constitutional earmark on income tax revenue that reserves it for public education and other programs, which could potentially open more money for vouchers, has been halted after a judge found the state had not given proper notice to voters ahead of the November election.
However, for Fallick-Wang, quality education should be ubiquitous and school funding should not be left to states.
"I don't think the quality of the education that is available to you should depend on the state you live in or the ZIP code that you live in. We need to make sure that we are funding well our public education system," she said.