Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy and Democratic challenger Kent Udell clashed over Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, nuclear energy development, and forest management in a largely polite debate at Utah Tech. The candidates presented sharply different visions for public lands and energy policy in Utah's largest congressional district.

Maloy defended the Trump-era monument reductions and emphasized local control, while Udell called for restoring monument boundaries and stronger environmental protections. The debate touched on nuclear power expansion, data center water use, and federal forest management.

The forum was the first of multiple scheduled debates before November's election in the redrawn 3rd District, which now covers most of southern and eastern Utah.