With just under a month until Election Day, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, spent part of Tuesday morning in the heart of Utah’s Silicon Slopes discussing challenges that he feels require the attention of voters — though he is not seeking reelection.

Inside a packed theater room at Kiln in Lehi, the soon-to-be-outgoing senator took questions from employees and entrepreneurs in attendance touching on a number of topics ranging from the national debt to artificial intelligence.

Romney warmed the crowd up, drawing a parallel between wrestling and politics, by sharing a story from his youth watching the sport while growing up in Michigan.

He shared a humorous anecdote involving professional wrestlers Haystack Calhoun and Killer Kowalski to illustrate the performance aspect of politics, highlighting the importance of practical solutions.

“Professional wrestling is as close to a parallel to Washington as anything I can imagine, which is the people that are successful are really good at baiting each other and, you know, yelling at the camera and attacking their opponent and, you know, either being loved or hated. But it’s all performance,” Romney said.

The analogy set the stage for him sharing concerns over the federal debt, which has surpassed $35 trillion.

Romney feels the amount of owed funds is one of the biggest threats facing the country.

A recent nonpartisan analysis of economic plans put forward by presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump suggests that the deficit could rise even more regardless of who takes office in January.

Entrepreneurs raised concerns of tax policies like research and development amortization that could impact businesses and new startups in the tech industry, particularly in regions like Silicon Slopes.

Romney suggested that the outcome of the upcoming election could significantly affect tax policies — leading to the extension or permanent renewal of favorable tax treatments for early stage businesses, including immediate write-offs for capital expenditures.

He also noted that some Republican senators might oppose certain provisions like the elimination of state and local tax deduction caps.

“So basically, you’ll get a continuation of the current tax code and the treatment of amortization of investments,” Romney said.

The senator also discussed the lack of federal regulations for AI.

The process to deploy legislation around AI has been slow at the federal level, but states like Utah have worked to put laws in place to protect personal data and privacy rights.

Still, Romney says businesses need to develop technologies and processes to ensure safety from potential threats that would violate consumer and infrastructure protection.

The short town hall concluded with Romney taking a question about best practices of deciphering misinformation.

He highlighted the dangers of unchecked information which can lead to dangerous beliefs and rhetoric.

“Right now, we have a setting where anybody can say something outrageous and it gets spread all over the country,” Romney stated.

Romney encouraged citizens to rely on trusted publications with editors and fact-checkers.

“I don’t know how democracy works without facts,” he said.

While Romney acknowledged the importance of free speech, he stressed the need to balance it with factual information.

“I hope you get behind candidates who don’t just make noise,” Romney said in his closing remarks before heading off to another panel at the Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City.