Lisonbee, who currently serves as District 14’s state House representative, is challenging Moore for the Republican nomination to represent Utah’s Second House District in the 2026 primary election.

Recently, Lisonbee sat down with the Standard-Examiner editorial board to discuss her campaign, why she’s running for Congress and her goals if elected.

‘There’s been a lot of frustration’

Lisonbee said that, just months ago, she had no intention of running for any position.

“In November, I had signaled on all of my socials I’m not running again,” she said. “The plan was to spend a lot of time with my grandkids and move on to other opportunities. And I was asked during the session by so many people from Northern Utah to consider running for the seat that I went home and spent a weekend talking with my family. We decided that would be OK. We could definitely serve and give back to the community in this impactful way.”

She said that she’s been asked to run out of frustration among voters in the region.

“There’s been a lot of frustration, I think, with our current representation in Northern Utah over the years,” she said. “Certainly it’s been ongoing.”

Lisonbee said a lot of that dissatisfaction revolves around Moore.

“There’s been a lot of frustrations expressed about Congressman Moore’s votes on the FISA 702 — the FISA warrants — the data grabs by the federal government, and I think people are especially sensitive about that right now,” she said. “And he, it’s my understanding, he was asked in one of his town hall meetings by people, ‘Why did you vote this way?’ And he voted with the majority of the Democrats to continue warrantless searches on American citizens. And his answer, according to the people that spoke with me, was unsatisfactory.”

Challenges

Lisonbee said one of the biggest ongoing challenges to both Northern Utah and the U.S. as a whole is federal spending.

“I remember when it took a decade or two to add a trillion dollars to the national debt,” she said. “We are adding a trillion dollars to the national debt every 100 days. That’s an unsustainable trajectory. We know that can’t continue, and Congress just continues to spend. My opponent continues to go back to Washington and vote for the opposite direction, the continuing resolutions, the raising the debt ceiling, the omnibus bills.”

She said part of the solution is rooting out alleged fraud and potentially letting local governments handle some of the groundwork on federal programs.

“There should have been better oversight into what was actually happening in the states,” she said. “Local government does it best, in my opinion, I’m a local government gal. And block granting to the states for Medicaid instead of having it administered by the federal government could be a step. Obviously, states are going to be a lot more mindful when there’s a limited resource and they are administering the program.”

Lisonbee said she’s also seeing people lose sight of the American dream.

“I think we all probably grew up with the expectation that there would be opportunities and that America was a place where we could grow, expand, increase and our younger generations aren’t feeling that, and that’s very sad to me,” she said. “I’ve had other people say, ‘Well, I think I’ve just given up on America. I’ve heard a lot of that, and that breaks my heart. I’m not ready to give up on America yet.”

‘A collaborator’

Lisonbee said that she’s been able to work well with others across her 16 years of public service.

“I have been a collaborator,” she said. “I have been effective at getting things done because I work with everybody.”

She pointed to a recent instance from the 2026 Utah legislative session.

There was a bill this year, and there’s been a lot of attention on the data center issue up here in Northern Utah,” she said. “There was a bill on appealing or filing a protest to a water right application. I was one of four Republicans and a majority of the Democrats who voted against that bill. So there’s a way to take principled stances and collaborate and get things done. I don’t anticipate, based on the conversations I’ve had with members in D.C., that it’s going to be a lot different, other than size and scope than our service here in Utah.”

Lisonbee said she’s even been approached for help by members of the Democratic Party in the past.

“I’ve had multiple members of the other side of the political aisle come to me and say, ‘I have this bill. I really want to pass something along these lines. Can you help me?’ To me,” she said. “And I’ve been able to look at what their policy goals are and craft a policy that they can get across the finish line in a conservative House and Senate with a Republican governor and pass a bill. What they came to me with was not going to pass. They knew it wasn’t going to pass, but I was able to help them have a policy that they could get passed. I’ve stood up on the House floor and defended bills from members on the other side of the aisle and saved their bill from dying on the House floor because it was good policy and it was based on the right principles, in my opinion.”

On the Stratos Data Center

Lisonbee also weighed in on the proposed Stratos Hyperscale Data Center in Box Elder County.

“For me, it’s principle over party, it’s principle over politics, and it’s connecting with people and really listening to people,” she said. “On the data center, for me, process is the principle. This has been a terrible process. I don’t think anybody can disagree with that statement. Now, outcomes are something we can disagree on. And there are some people that are maybe celebrating that, because of the public pushback, now we’re at a scaled-down project. For me, it’s still a question of, ‘That was a conversation that happened not in the public, not with public input.’ We still need better process.”

She noted that upon using her voice on the project, some traction was gained to pursue a more public process.

“I was the first Republican elected official to publicly call for public hearings, better process and to point out that there were issues,” she said. “And it was the next day after I made my public statement that Governor (Spencer) Cox called for public hearings. And I’m grateful that he did. I’m grateful that he was able to show some leadership and call for those public hearings. They need to continue to happen throughout this process.”

On Hill Air Force Base

Lisonbee said that there has been some concern about Moore and his willingness to address issues within the military impacting Hill Air Force Base.

“Congressman Moore has made a lot of claims about what he’s done for Hill Air Force Base,” she said. “I’ve had conversations with base leadership and the boots on the ground on the base, and those conversations have identified issues for members of the military and others who serve on base that — in the six years that have been communicated to Congressman Moore — that haven’t been addressed.”

She said there is a need for leadership that has a focus on the military.

“Two former congressmen in Utah have come to me and said, ‘We have to have a member on Armed Services Committee,'” she said. “That is where all the really important conversations and prioritization happens. … I think it’s really important. I’ve committed to get back on Armed Services. Blake committed to stay on Armed Services. He abandoned that commitment after one year. I am laser focused on serving Hill Air Force Base, serving our men and women in the economic driver in Northern Utah for many, many years to come.”

For more information on Karianne Lisonbee and her campaign, visit https://www.votekarianne.com/.