Misty K. Snow, a Democrat seeking the party’s nomination in the U.S. Senate contest, sees herself as upholding the values of the state’s minority party better than her opponent.
Snow, a 30-year-old transgender woman who lives in Salt Lake City, said Jonathan Swinton, who is also seeking the nomination, does not align with some traditional Democratic stands, such as the right of a woman to choose to have an abortion. He is not a strong supporter of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, either, Snow said.
“It’s like Republican-lite,” Snow, who is a grocery-store clerk, said about her Democratic opponent’s platform, adding, “He’s a self-described conservative.”
Snow is pro-choice and described herself as a supporter of women’s rights. She said the Republican Party is mounting an “assault” on those rights.
The two Democrats are competing in a June 28 primary for the right to challenge Sen. Mike Lee, the Republican incumbent. Snow said Lee is not popular in the state, mentioning the impact of the shutdown of the federal government on national forests and claiming he is a Republican extremist.
“They don’t like his grandstanding,” Snow said.
Snow said the election in 2016 could present an opportunity for Democrats since Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is not as popular in Utah as he is elsewhere in the nation. She said some Republicans may opt not to vote in November with Trump at the top of the ticket, potentially creating an opening for a Democrat. The millennial voting bloc leans toward the left, another reason there could be a Democratic opportunity, Snow said.
Snow offers a platform that also includes supporting the middle class, including through a dramatic increase in the federal minimum wage over time. The minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour. Snow said the figure should more than double, to $15 per hour, over a four-year span.
“You do it over a couple years. You do it gradually,” Snow said.
Snow said such an increase would assist Park City’s work force. She said many people who work in Park City do not live in the city based on housing costs. Snow also said raising the minimum wage would help women, minorities, young people and members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
Snow’s environmental platform focuses on cleaner-burning energies. She said solar power and wind power have the most potential. Snow wants investments made in cleaner-burning energies by “taxing the polluting sources of energy.” That would create an incentive to pursue the environmentally friendly alternatives, she said, adding, perhaps, a new tax on gasoline at a rate of five cents per gallon could be instituted. The revenues could then be invested in improvements to public transit or cleaner-burning energies, as examples. She supports the creation of a Bears Ears National Monument in Southern Utah.
Snow, meanwhile, said raising the tax rate on capital gains, such as when someone sells stock at a profit, could be considered. The rate is currently 15 percent. Snow said perhaps the rate could be raised to between 17 percent and 20 percent. The working class sometimes pays higher income-tax rates, she said. Raising the tax rate on capital gains could help fund education or health care. It would also assist in narrowing income inequality, she said.
“They’re paying 15 percent tax. They’re making millions,” Snow said.