SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah County Republican has announced he’s running for the U.S. Senate in 2022 for a seat currently held by GOP U.S. Sen. Mike Lee.
Brendan Wright, a Lehi resident and area planning manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced his run for federal office Saturday while criticizing the leadership in Washington, The Daily Herald reported.
“It really just increasingly built on me that I was hoping we were going to see the leadership we need, and I just didn’t feel like I was seeing that,” Wright said in an interview Monday. “We were hearing a lot of great things in the news and from leaders, calls for teamwork, civility, respect, working together, unity, and I just felt like I needed to step up and help share that message.”
Wright has not yet filed for candidacy, but said he wanted to start reaching out to voters early.
His campaign said he wants to help the country become debt free, increase productivity in the federal government, protect and preserve the environment and grow industries across the country. He said his campaign and message are not connected to or endorsed by his employer.
Wright grew up in Provo and attended Timpview High School and Brigham Young University.
Wright said he is “running for, not against” and said he has “respect (for) our incumbent senators … and all candidates from any party.”
“I really appreciate Senator Lee and his emphasis on the Constitution and promoting and following that, in particular the work he’s done over the past dozen years,” he said. “I just feel that this emphasis on teamwork and leadership and action in those areas are really what we need now.”
Lee has served two terms and has already started campaigning for 2022.
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