Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Democrat Glenn Wright admits that members of his party aren't focused enough on reducing the U.S. national debt but says Republicans — despite all their talk — haven't taken meaningful steps to curb federal spending either.
"Republicans talk about it whenever there's a Democratic president," he told the KSL and Deseret News editorial boards Tuesday morning.
As the Democratic nominee for Utah's 3rd District congressional seat, Wright is running on reducing what he calls "out-of-control deficits" in Washington. He also said politicians should be willing to consider significant reforms to the Social Security system, which makes up a sizable chunk of the annual budget and is headed toward insolvency.
Common proposals to reform the current system often include raising the retirement age or reducing benefits, but most propose that those changes only go into effect for workers in their 40s or younger so as not to impact those close to retirement who are counting on the benefits. But Wright said that means the benefit of the cuts wouldn't be realized for another 20 or so years, after the program is projected to run out of money.
Instead, Wright said the U.S. may need to find more creative solutions, and floated the idea of a program allowing eligible adults to remain employed while taking half of their Social Security benefits and deferring the rest to when they do fully retire. He said this could help free up money for other beneficiaries in the short term.
Social Security payments for retirees are supported, in large part, by payments from those still working. The program has suffered in recent years due to the large number of retirees relative to the working population and falling birthrates in the U.S. Because of this, Wright also said he supports immigration reform to get more foreign workers into the country — something he hopes will bolster the money flowing into entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
"(We're) not making babies fast enough and we probably won't," he said. "That's where immigration reform comes in."
An uphill climb
Wright, who has previously served on the Summit County Council, faces a tough challenge against Mike Kennedy, a Republican state senator who challenged Mitt Romney for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2018. The district leans heavily Republican — something Wright knows from personal experience when he lost to Rep. John Curtis by nearly 30 points in 2022.
The self-described "eternal optimist" is hopeful that his anti-Trump, pro-personal freedom message will resonate with moderate or conservative voters. He described the modern GOP as a "really radical Trump-like party," and said former President Donald Trump presents a threat to the Constitution.
"The whole issue of supporting Donald Trump as a presidential candidate — I mean, the guy tried to overthrow the government. He is a threat to our constitutional republic," Wright said. "Anybody running for federal office who supports him is not qualified to run for federal office. We are putting our constitutional republic in danger."
Wright said many Republicans are too focused on telling people "what to do with their lives," particularly when it comes to reproductive health care and other social issues.
