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U.S. Senate hopeful Ally Isom, left, answers a question at a meeting on Monday in Ogden of the Weber County Republican Women. Becky Edwards, center, is also running for the U.S. Senate. Gina Worthen, right, is chairperson of the Cache County Council and attended as representative of U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, the incumbent.

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Becky Edwards, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful, addresses a gathering Monday in Ogden of the Weber County Republican Women. Ally Isom, left, also a U.S. Senate hopeful, listens.

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From right, GOP U.S. Senate hopefuls Ally Isom and Becky Edwards along with Gina Worthen, chairperson of the Cache County Council, listen at a meeting in Ogden on Monday of the Weber County Republican Women. Isom and Edwards spoke about their campaigns while Worthen represented U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, the incumbent.

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OGDEN — Two of the Republican candidates hoping to oust U.S. Sen. Mike Lee in elections next year brought their messages to Ogden on Monday, addressing a group of GOP women.

A common message coming from Becky Edwards, a former Utah House member, and Ally Isom, a top staffer during the administration of Gov. Gary Herbert, centered on the need for change, a new direction.

Over and over, Edwards is hearing a similar refrain from Utahns, “which is, ‘I feel unheard, I don’t feel like our federal delegation represents me, I want to see something different. Isn’t there something better we can do?'” she said. “That’s why I’m in the race, because I feel the same way. I know there’s something better because I served for 10 years in the House and did it differently. I did it better.”

Isom sounded a message of returning to what she said are the “core principles” of the Republican Party — a focus on limited government, individual freedoms and fiscal responsibility.

“Free markets, low taxes — these are the things I believe in, and this is why I’m running,” Isom said. “I feel our party is at a crossroads. We’ve lost our focus on these core principles. We’ve forgotten what it’s all about. … It’s time to reclaim what’s real. It’s not culture wars. It’s not personalities.”

Lee wasn’t present, but Gina Worthen, a supporter and chairperson of the Cache County Council, attended, speaking as his proxy. Weber County Republican Women hosted Monday’s event, held at the Ice Sheet on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden.

Lee’s focus on the U.S. Constitution and his personable demeanor drew Worthen to him, she said. As a candidate, Lee has put an emphasis on keeping positive, avoiding mudslinging and negativity. “That really impressed me. We need that sensibility so much in our politics,” she said.

Some critics view Lee as an “obstructionist,” she said, but she sees him as a “constructionist.” Moreover, Lee, Worthen said, represents Utah values, keeps the influence of Washington, D.C., from seeping into the state. “Don’t Washington, D.C., my Utah. That’s really important to me,” she said.

The GOP contenders don’t face off in the U.S. Senate primary until next year, but Edwards and Isom, the leading Republican challengers to Lee, are already busy campaigning around Utah. Lee, not surprisingly as incumbent, leads in fundraising in the race with $1.94 million cash on hand, according to the latest U.S. Federal Election Commission figures. Next comes Edwards with $483,236 and Isom with $310,261.

IMMIGRATION, NATIONAL DEBT

Both Isom and Edwards delved into their key campaign messages.

Edwards said her three primary issues are “family prosperity,” which encompasses things like affordable housing and child care, working to assure clean air and addressing the thorny immigration issue.

As a Utah House member, she was able to “debunk” the notion that only Democrats can fight for clean air, she said. On immigration, she noted the difficulty some business operators are having in finding workers.

“They’re just not finding people in the state,” Edwards said. Accordingly, the United States should secure its borders, but further focus on creating an “expedited process for visas so we can get people in the state, here legally, contributing to our economy.”

In putting a focus on what she said are “core” GOP values, Isom alluded to government spending.

“Our national debt is out of control. Why does the word ‘trillion’ just roll off our tongues now?” she said. “We should be abhorred at the legacy we’re leaving our children, our grandchildren and our great grandchildren.”

In talking with Utahns, key issues of concern seem to be conservation of water and assuring a pool of affordable housing, Isom said.

More generally, she said she would bring experience with the public sector to the role as U.S. senator given her work as deputy chief of staff during the Herbert administration. She also served on the Kaysville City Council.

She also worked with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in community relations and can connect with people “across segments, across cultures, across divides,” Isom said.

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