Meet Blake Moore
In His Own Words
Early Life and Family
Born and raised in Ogden, Utah, I learned responsibility and hard work from my dad and optimism and service from my mom. I got picked on plenty as the youngest of five kids, but now we just debate who was the best athlete. I was. If they want to refute that, they are welcome to run for Congress.
Simply put, sports taught me the importance of relying on those around you, and that constant improvement is possible. During my senior year, I was awarded the Wendy’s National High School Heisman, honoring high school seniors for athletics, academics, and citizenship. This led to several unexpected experiences, including articles in church magazines, being honored by Governor Leavitt and the Utah Legislature, and the late Mayor Glenn J. Mecham dedicating December 23rd of that year as as Blake Moore Day in Ogden. What I remember most, however, was a brief conversation with a Heisman trustee after the ceremony. He mentioned that it was my Eagle Scout Award and other service projects that set me apart. I remember thinking at that very moment that I’m not that special—that’s just the way we raise kids in northern Utah.
After graduating from high school, I signed a scholarship to play quarterback at Utah State University for mentor and friend Dave Arslanian (Coach Ars). I loved living in Logan. I then served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Seoul, South Korea. I finished my bachelor’s degree at the University of Utah. I later obtained a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University.
My beautiful wife, Jane Boyer, and I celebrated 13 years of marriage this past September. Jane takes it a step beyond being supportive; she encourages me to take risks and pursue big things. She is reflective, spiritual, humorous, and not the least bit content. She has been by my side through my time abroad and during my career in Utah. We have four amazing boys, Max, George, Winston, and Franklin. Max is good-natured and dutiful; George is charming (admittedly too charming); Winston is incredibly lovable; and Franklin is the busiest toddler we’ve ever seen. Family is everything, and I hope to make them proud in this campaign and the service that is to come.
Service and Experience
I began my career by serving our country in various civilian roles, most notably as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State in the intelligence and defense community. This service first took me to Washington, D.C., and then Asia, where I gained first-hand knowledge of the threats we face from foreign enemies and where I was involved in our foreign policy approach to the Chinese government. Serving in this capacity also gave me a unique understanding of what is vital and what is wasteful in our federal government.
For nearly a decade, I worked for Cicero Group, a Utah-based management consulting firm, where I helped businesses grow and helped organizations solve complex problems. My primary role was to collect information, analyze it, create a plan, and then take companies through the change process. I led projects in healthcare, education, marketing, waste, and transportation. I also did extensive policy-related work with public sector clients as the practice lead for Dan Jones and Associates. This experience gave me both a broad and deep understanding of effective business practices, how to understand data, and how to implement operational improvements. This is exactly the type of experience needed in Congress in normal times, but it’s even more important during what’s ahead these next several years.
Outside of work, I invested heavily in community-building efforts on behalf of the Utah Adoption Exchange and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. I founded a local kickball event that supported the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program, which focuses on finding forever families for children in foster care. I worked to help develop the next generation of Utah’s Chamber of Commerce leaders, and I’m serving on the Utah Sports Commission Board in an effort to bring the Olympics back to Utah.
In Congress, I am proud to serve as co-chair of the Air Force Caucus and Depot Modernization Caucus. I’ve been able to advance Hill Air Force Base’s biggest priorities and am focused on bringing funding and jobs to our community. I was proud to successfully push for many provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that will benefit northern Utah, pass many bills out of the Natural Resources committee to expand recreational access, see multiple bills signed into law, achieve a high success rate in bringing community project funding to Utah, and serve on the China conference committee as the Armed Services representative. I am also an Assistant Whip on the Republican Whip Team, working hard to pass conservative legislation through the House.
Reversing America’s debt and deficit crisis and ensuring we maintain our competitive edge against China are among my top priorities. After just two years on Capitol Hill, I was nominated to sit on the House Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful committee in Congress with jurisdiction over taxes, trade, healthcare, and our country’s entitlement programs. I am proud to be the first Utahn to ever sit on this committee (except for one Democrat in the 1950s who sat for one term). Before I joined the committee, it had only one Republican west of Texas.
Western mountain states are the fastest growing area of the country, and we need representation on the unique workforce, tax, trade, energy, and housing issues that are necessary to fuel successful growth. Utah’s youthful demographics, combined with the fact that we have the best economic outlook in the nation with the fastest growing GDP, a balanced budget, and low unemployment, have given me a unique political opportunity to tackle the massive government programs that are crippling our country’s finances and holding back our economy. If we don’t act, by 2053, payments on the interest for our debt will be by far the largest line item in the budget, consuming 40% of our federal revenues. Our children—who should be providing for their own kids and buying their first homes by that point—could be paying half their income on taxes that go toward servicing the interest on the national debt. This is horrifying, and I won’t rest until we put our families on a better course.
Commitment to Serve
A mentor recently told me the following, “I once thought service was the sacrifice, but later realized you must sacrifice for the privilege to serve.” This community set me up for success by teaching me the value of service and the importance of commitment. Those traits have been a common thread throughout my life, and it is time to give that back to the 1st District.
I ran for Congress to ensure we have conservative leadership for our nation’s future. Who we send to Washington matters. Elections are about the future and the stakes have never been higher.