As sure as the November elections finish, the new candidates for next year’s election begin to appear.

Brandon Casper, 24, has announced his candidacy for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District seat currently held by Rep. John Curtis.

In a press release Monday, Casper identified himself as a “moderate conservative” that aligns closely to Republican viewpoints.

“I also allow room for other ideas that align with my values, such as rights and equal treatment of our LGBT\Q+ family and neighbors,” he said.

Casper said he stands by the Constitution, believing that it was written by inspiration and is the most important document the government has.

While Casper was born in Orem, his father joined the Air Force while Casper was young and his family began to move across the country and overseas.

“Being surrounded by servicemen and women, I developed a deep love for the United States and the men and women who defend it,” he said.

Casper said his mother was politically active and he recalls having “many conversations about freedom, rights, service, morals, and values with her while growing up.”

Casper returned to Utah in 2015 and has since attended Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bakersfield, California. He is the father of two boys.

According to Casper, he decided to run for office shortly after the 2020 elections, saying he was “deeply disturbed by the political extremism, loyalty to a political party rather than loyalty to values, and the divide these issues created in the American people all the way down to the family level.”

A large part of Casper’s campaign, he said, is to “reintroduce the common ground between Republicans and Democrats and offer solutions to controversial issues that require more than a ‘Republican answer’ or a ‘Democrat answer.'”

Casper said accurate representation is also very important to him, elaborating that he wants every citizen living in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District to feel represented, even if the candidate of their choice did not win.

According to Census Reporter, as of 2019, 19% of the citizens living in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District are within the 20-29 age range and 60% of the district is between 18 and 64, making it one of the youngest districts in the country. Because of this, Casper said he believes the district deserves a younger representative in Washington, D.C.

Newsletter