About this position
Congressional District 2 (“CD2”) is one of Utah’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. CD2 covers most of northern Utah from east to west, including Ogden, Logan, Brigham City, and surrounding areas.
Utah has four House representatives who work full-time in Washington, D.C., as well as in local offices. Because House members vote on issues like healthcare, taxes, public lands, infrastructure, immigration, and education, these races can have a significant impact on both Utah and national policy.
About the Candidates
We strive to give quality information on every candidate on the ballot, although due to bandwidth focus on most viable candidates for this race. Find what qualities the Network of Utah Moderates is looking for in candidates.
Candidates’ top priorities come from their official websites. This guide is just a starting point to research more. We always encourage reaching out directly to candidates via phone, email, or in-person events to learn more about their priorities and experience.
Blake Moore, Republican (incumbent)
About: Native of Ogden, Utah. has lived in Salt Lake City (outside CD2 boundaries) for 10+ years. Mr. Moore has a Master’s in Public Policy degree. Before Congress, he worked in business consulting, public policy, and foreign service-related work.
Mr. Moore has represented northern Utah in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021 and currently serves in House Republican leadership as Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference. He also serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, House Budget Committee, and has served on other committees during his time in Congress. He is also co-chair of the DOGE caucus.
Top priorities: Lowering costs and fiscal discipline, border security and immigration reform, strengthening Hill Air Force base and national security, tax relief and economic growth, pro family
Insights: Mr. Moore is generally viewed as part of the more pragmatic wing of Utah Republican politics (likely why he lost at the state convention to a further-right challenger). He has worked on bipartisan legislation, constituent services, and environmental work related to the Great Salt Lake and was formerly a sponsor of Better Boundaries in 2018. He holds leadership positions, which allow him (and Utah) to have an outsized say in Congress. We appreciate these things about him.
However, we are concerned that Mr. Moore has not consistently stood up for constitutional principles as we believe the current moment requires. We have repeatedly hoped he would stand up to his party to check executive power and stand up for both responsible government and the interests of Utahns. We believe he is capable of that leadership—and have been repeatedly disappointed that he has not exercised it.
In a pivotal moment for our country, we need leaders who will stand up. We question the consistency between his stated emphasis on fiscal responsibility while supporting legislation that has substantially increased federal debt. Moore has also been very limited in his engagement with constituents. In 2025, he only held one in-person town hall, along with a handful of telephone town halls. This year (while campaigning) he’s only held nine in-person town halls and several by phone.
In our experience attending his events, Mr. Moore initially spends time telling us about what he’s been doing in Congress, then answers a handful of questions at such length that he runs out of time to address even a fraction of the questions attendees want to ask. We were less than impressed by his recent answers in his debate against Mr. Crosby (watch for yourself!)
Peter Crosby
About: Peter Crosby is a first-generation college graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Utah State University. His career spans business management, corporate analytics, and higher education, including eight years in institutional research and seven years teaching American Institutions at USU. He currently works as a director, project manager, and consultant while teaching a graduate course on emerging technology.
Top priorities: affordability, healthcare, housing, government accountability, protecting the Great Salt Lake and public lands, congressional ethics
Insights: Crosby has never held elected office, so voters have no legislative record to evaluate. However, several Network members have met and spoken directly with him. Those conversations have given us confidence in his ability to do the job.
Mr. Crosby emphasizes accountability, constituent engagement, and a willingness to challenge political leadership when necessary. We believe his approach to governing is pragmatic; he would find bipartisan wins while remaining willing to stand up to the excesses and overreach of the current administration (and even his own party). We found Mr. Crosby articulate and intelligent during his recent debate and appreciated his Substack post on faith and politics relevant to many LDS Utah voters.
In contrast to his leading opponent, Mr. Crosby has held over forty town halls during his campaign. That doesn’t include his appearances at dozens of additional meet and greet and community events. In our opinion, Mr. Crosby has made a remarkable effort to be available and talk to voters. Of note: Mr. Crosby has over 1,000 unique donors, which attests to this being a truly grassroots campaign.
Other Candidates
Daniel Cottam — Libertarian: Advocates limited government, individual liberty, and fiscal restraint. (No website, see his Facebook or YouTube nomination speech)
Robert Moesinger — Unaffiliated/independent: Ogden native and engineer running without a political-party affiliation. We couldn’t find a website but did find this independent piece with some of his answers; seems like his top priority is election reform. He prefers ranked-choice voting in multi-member districts (we don’t disagree).
Carlton E. Bowen — Independent American: Running on the Independent American Party platform, emphasizing constitutional government and limited federal power. He also opposes data centers. Mr. Bowen has run for office many times; we watched Mr. Bowen in a debate for US Senate candidates against John Curtis and Caroline Gleich two years ago; worth watching if you are considering voting for Mr. Bowen.
Our Recommendation
We strongly recommend voting for Peter Crosby.
We say this as a group of majority historical Republicans who believe Blake Moore is a genuinely good person who strikes us as a more principled and moderate Republican. However, we have repeatedly hoped that Moore would stand up on major issues currently facing the country. He has consistently stayed silent, failing to act to check executive power. We believe Utah and the country need congressional leaders willing to provide meaningful checks. We continue to believe he is capable of doing so, but we have been disappointed by his reluctance to use his voice. As a sitting Congressman, we were also astounded by his poor answers at the recent CD2 debate.
After watching his campaign, meeting, and discussing his priorities, we believe Mr. Crosby has the judgment and ability to serve effectively and provide the independent voice we hope to see in Congress.
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