Meet the candidates: Thomas Wright
Jun 22, 2020, 12:14 PM | Updated: Jun 23, 2020, 2:28 pm
Born in Salt Lake City in 1973-74, Thomas Wright is the fifth of eight children.
He and his wife, Caroline, are parents to four children and reside in Salt Lake City. While attending the University of Utah on a golf scholarship, Wright earned a bachelor’s degree of arts in Russian and Marketing.
Wright is owner, president and principal broker of Summit Sotheby’s International Realty based in Park City.
He declared his candidacy for governor on Jan. 2, 2020. That month he also selected nine-term Utah Congressman Rob Bishop as his running mate.
Wright served as the chairman of the Utah Republican Party from 2011 to 2013. He is a past chairman of the Salt Lake County GOP.
From 1977 to 1979, his father, Bob Wright was also chairman of the Utah Republican Party and the Republican nominee for governor in 1980, but was defeated by Scott Matheson.
Wright supports the president’s re-election: “Congressman Bishop and I both supported President Donald J. Trump when he ran in 2016 and we support him in his re-election effort.”
On the Issues
Wright is anti-abortion: “I am pro-life. As governor, I will protect the sanctity of innocent human life.”
To aid rural Utah economically, Wright says, “I don’t generally support incentivizing business to locate in our state, but I would if the focus was on job creation off the Wasatch Front.”
On mental health treatment in Utah, Wright advocates earlier intervention and a greater focus on schools.
He adds
, “When and where appropriate, I’ll work to develop alternatives to incarceration, and make efforts to create clearer pathways to jobs for those who have had challenges, but are now ready to make meaningful contributions to society.”
Wright suggested some Utahns who have lost jobs because of COVID-19 could be retrained as mental health counselors and said his message to troubled LGBTQ youth is that they are welcome in Utah, according to the Deseret News.
Wright is a supporter of the Second Amendment and as governor he pledges to increase “individual rights and societal safety.”
Wright supports increasing teacher pay: “We cannot allow teaching our children to be a second-income profession.”
To find out more about candidate Wright, visit his campaign website.
