Isom says country, Republican Party at critical political crossroads
With the primary election season in full swing, the Chronicle Progress is speaking with candidates about their reasons for running for elected office and the issues that motivate them to serve.
Looking outside of local races, the newspaper recently sat down with Ally Isom, a 51-year-old candidate for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mike Lee.
Isom is a Republican—she calls herself a classic conservative— and a mother of four. She has a long history of service, both inside state politics, inside the LDS church and in the private sector.
She spent more than 20 years working on political campaigns, is a state GOP insider, served multiple state agencies and offices, and worked alongside Gov. Gary Herbert as an aide when he was in office.
Isom said her biggest motivation for running was that she believes the nation and the GOP are at a crossroads, where mechanisms once in place to foster meaningful conversations between people of diverse opinions is simply broken.
“I want my country back and I want my party back,” she said.
Isom, if elected, would be the first female senator from Utah.
She said she believes Lee is ripe for ouster from his seat because he has failed to address the needs of Utahns, engaging more in inconsequential culture war spats than serious, substantial policy debate.
“The incumbent is ineffective and out of touch with everyday Utahns. He refuses to carry the water on Utah’s biggest issues and insists on picking cultural battles and being a strange outlier vote on bills that might put him in the spotlight, but don’t serve Utah well,” Isom said.
The candidate has visited more than 90 communities inside the state, traveling with her fifth wheel, dubbed the “All Inn.” She said every problem has a face. And her effort to put real people first includes walking a symbolic mile in each town she visits along the campaign trail.
“It’s the concept of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes,” she said. “That listening tour has not only been the highlight of this opportunity for me, but more importantly it has provided the foundation for my policy priorities. And it helps me know what matters most to Utahns. That’s what we need in effective leadership and representation, someone in tune with what matters to Utahns, not their own agenda.”
Asked what her list of priorities looks like, she rattled off a number of issues about which everyday Utahns worry.
“In my time in Utah communities, the clear priorities are, first and foremost, water. That is going to be at the top of my list. But I also hear about affordable housing. I hear about quality growth and planning issues. I hear about the morale of law enforcement, educators, and healthcare professionals. I hear about affordable child care. And I also hear about affordable and accessible healthcare. Those are the issues that will be at the top of my priority list,” she said.
Isom was asked how well she thought she would work with Utah’s other U.S. senator, Mitt Romney, who is often portrayed as a Judas by members of his own party for not kowtowing to Donald Trump, effectively the GOP’s national leader. Romney even dared to vote to convict Trump after his second impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 insurrection, only one of seven GOP senators to cross the aisle and vote with Democrats to convict the president. Romney most recently made political waves by not endorsing Lee’s bid for reelection.
Isom said she has learned to work well and listen to people with whom she may not always agree.
“I’ve spent a career working with people with whom I disagree or people who have different ideas and experiences than I do,” she said. “That’s what you do in the public arena. You work with people with all different ideas to move forward. I have full confidence that when people with good faith get together good things can happen.”
Asked about her other GOP opponents in the race for Lee’s seat—Isom will also be competing for the GOP nomination against former state Rep. Becky Edwards, an engineer named Evan Barlow, Jeremy Friedbaum, who ran in 2018, and a few other lesser known people seeking the office—she said she has the best chance of all of them to unseat Lee.
“I think I offer a stronger approach to beating an incumbent and I offer a portfolio of classic conservative… a track record where my proven conservative principles have held,” Isom said.
The state GOP convention is scheduled for April 23. The June 28 GOP primary is expected to select the race’s real winner, though a challenge by independent candidate Evan McMullin, who famously ran for president against Trump in 2016, could make for an exciting November general election battle for whoever wins the GOP nomination.
Isom has said repeatedly that she plans to only serve two terms if voters agree to send her to Washington. She says that is more a decision for her family than a political calculation.
“I subscribe to the notion that you get in, you do what you can and that there are other principled Utahns who can step in as well. Washington, D.C. needs disruption and Washington, D.C. needs a thorough cleansing and some truth,” she said. “My intent is to serve two terms and then come home. That’s as much a commitment to my family as anything else.”
Isom’s four children are grown, though her eldest daughter passed away when she was just 21. Isom has five grandchildren.
She said losing a child has provided her with a deeper perspective and a narrower focus on the things that truly matter in life, with politics ranking fairly low in her estimation.
For example, though she’s in the midst of this harried campaign for a prestigious U.S. Senate seat, Isom has found it within her to host a family from Ukraine, refugees from the war there.
She said the family was able to make it to California but was there with limited resources. Her husband and son went to California and picked up the family, moving them into Isom’s home. Isom had met the refugees before the war when her son was serving on an LDS mission inside the country.
“They took us out to an authentic Ukrainian dinner at a local restaurant. They were incredibly gracious hosts to us and shared their limited means with us. And we always said if you ever come to America, please come visit and stay with us,” Isom said. “Everyday they are calling home and checking on their relatives that are staying in the basement of their apartment building and in the metro (subway) for shelter… it is heartbreaking to watch what is happening in their country.”
Isom said policymakers have to be more than intentional in ensuring the conflict doesn’t spill across Ukraine’s borders and turn into a global conflagration. She added that her opponent, Lee, could have done more for Ukraine when he had the chance.
“The incumbent, my frustration is that when he had the chance to help them arm themselves he bypassed the opportunity to help Ukraine defend itself better from the beginning,” she said, before adding, “If there ever were a time for unity and objectivity and the ability to work with people of diverse opinions, it’s now.”
