For 4th-term Rep. John Curtis, working for Senate is a complete new ballgame

Editor’s be aware: KSL.com is that includes tales concerning the 4 GOP candidates on the June 25 main poll who’re in search of to interchange Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. Jason Walton was featured Tuesday. Wednesday, a take a look at John Curtis. Brad Wilson will likely be featured on Thursday, and Trent Staggs on Friday.

PROVO — John Curtis is not any stranger to political campaigns. The Republican congressman was elected mayor of Provo twice and has received 4 congressional campaigns, starting together with his particular election win in 2017 to interchange outgoing Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

However this 12 months’s race for Senate — now narrowed down amongst Republicans to 4 contenders — is a distinct story altogether. Curtis’ earlier campaigns for Congress lined one in every of Utah’s 4 congressional districts, resulting in the idea that to run for Senate would require an identical effort, multiplied by 4.

The fact wasn’t so easy.

“I feel we have been fairly naive about what was going to work and what wasn’t going to work with the marketing campaign,” Corey Norman, Curtis’ chief of employees, instructed KSL.com. “The fact is, simply the quantity of consideration from residents, as you’ll be able to think about. … So it simply performs a totally completely different dynamic.”

The quantity of scrutiny from politicians and curiosity teams from out of state can also be drastically magnified, given the numerous relative energy of a single senator.

Utah’s geography provides one other wrinkle to any statewide marketing campaign. Curtis’ present third Congressional District covers parts of 11 counties from Salt Lake County to the 4 Corners space. As such, Curtis is not any stranger to hourslong automobile journeys to go to the distant areas in his district, however he’s now interesting to all Utah voters unfold throughout the state’s almost 85,000 sq. miles.

On condition that Curtis’ present gig — because the longest-serving member of Utah’s Home delegation — requires him to spend important time in Washington, his days in Utah are packed from nightfall to daybreak with fundraisers and different marketing campaign occasions. Private time is sparse — Norman mentioned three hours to himself is an efficient week for Curtis — and leisure time nearly nonexistent.

However his staffers say Curtis is the one member of the ensemble who hardly ever, if ever, grumbles concerning the workload, as an alternative cheerfully submitting himself to the gauntlet of whistle-stops the marketing campaign lays in entrance of him every day.

Buying and selling Home for Senate

Curtis and a number of other marketing campaign staffers met KSL.com within the parking zone of a Walmart only a stone’s throw from I-15 final week, a typical assembly level to coordinate marketing campaign actions. Opposite to standard perception, working for Senate is an “unglamorous” endeavor, Curtis mentioned with amusing.

The crew piled right into a rented Chrysler minivan that has grow to be the marketing campaign’s cellular headquarters. The car was stocked with a tote bag of popcorn, protein shakes and different snacks, a few blazers and a number of other pairs of footwear to suit quite a lot of features. On today, they have been 28 days faraway from the June 25 main election, Norman famous, and there was solely per week earlier than ballots started to hit mailboxes.

Curtis had simply accomplished a morning fundraiser and deliberate to ship pizza and cookies to a number of Utah County police departments as a “thanks” to officers earlier than convening a roundtable with officers to debate wildfire response and prevention that afternoon.

Requested how he initially determined to forgo one other time period within the Home and take a look at for the Senate, Curtis mentioned he took some convincing. When Sen. Mitt Romney first introduced he wouldn’t search reelection final 12 months, Curtis penned an op-ed within the Deseret Information saying he “determined to remain out of the U.S. Senate race at the moment.”

On the time, Curtis mentioned he considered his time in Washington as seemingly “winding down,” noting that after a number of years within the Home of Representatives, he was already greater than midway up within the seniority because of the frequent turnover. He described the chamber as “impetuous” at instances and mentioned the every-other-year marketing campaign cycle made it laborious to deal with governing.

He mentioned “in a way” the politics in Washington have grown extra caustic in recent times, and he mentioned his 2022 reelection marketing campaign was notably tense. This time round, he is observed much less vitriol on the marketing campaign path as voters are “drained” of politicians not getting issues achieved.

Curtis was initially cautious to decide to a six-year Senate time period, however warmed to the thought after listening to a refrain of assist for his potential marketing campaign — and after being nudged by some in his household. Many politicians must persuade their household of their intent to run for workplace, however Curtis’ spouse Sue Snarr and kids have been those to ultimately carry him on board.

When the topic got here up, Snarr was fast to inform Curtis, “You are unsuitable,” he mentioned. Though his kids weren’t at all times specific with him, Curtis mentioned he knew they needed him to run.

“I at all times taught them they must do laborious issues,” he mentioned. “They by no means mentioned, ‘That is a kind of laborious stuff you taught us we needed to do,’ however I may really feel it.”

Though he was initially not sure, Curtis now is aware of he made the correct determination.

“There was a time period after I was relationship my spouse once we bought spooked to finish the connection,” he mentioned. “Then we got here again a second time, and there was no trying again.”

‘It was due to him’

After spending some half-hour chatting with officers within the Provo Police Division, Curtis lingered within the new, glistening five-story metropolis constructing that changed his previous stomping grounds on Heart Road to meet up with former staff who nonetheless work for the town. When he discovered his former metropolis legal professional’s workplace empty, Curtis posed for a photograph together with his ft propped up on the desk.

John Borget, the director of administrative companies for the town, fondly remembers Curtis’ days as mayor and mentioned the congressman has made it some extent to stay in contact together with his former colleagues.

“Each time there was a really troublesome subject, he simply attacked it head-on and was in a position to give you good options,” Borget mentioned. “He was somebody that was not solely the mayor … but in addition was your pal, and I feel that the workers actually felt that John was there for them.”

Norman, who served as Curtis’ deputy mayor, mentioned one thing related and praised the congressman’s skill to carry collectively dissenting voices. On points like public lands and vitality independence, he hopes Curtis will proceed that monitor file within the Senate.

“In some way, strolling out of that room, all people (was) feeling like they received one thing, and it was due to him,” he mentioned.

However Curtis’ time in Washington has made him cautious of overpromising and aware of limitations. When Utah County officers requested him to request further federal fireplace mitigation funds, he heard them out earlier than gently reminding them of the strong nationwide debt. He would not overlook the request, he mentioned, however there was solely a lot to go round. They nodded in understanding.

“I like to unravel issues,” Curtis mentioned. He famous that different candidates may be “brighter, smarter or better-looking,” however mentioned he doubts there are any who would “work more durable to attempt to discover consensus.”

Curtis cut up from the group within the late afternoon to make requires an hour or two from house earlier than capping off his day with night appearances in Lehi and Salt Lake Metropolis. He and his employees have been already mapping out what could be one other packed schedule the next day on the drive again.

Stepping out of the automobile he waved again to his marketing campaign supervisor: “I will see you at 7:15 tomorrow.”