Editor’s note: Daily Universe reporters examined how Utah’s congressional delegation responded not only to the Capitol breach on Jan. 6 but the shift in the Republican Party over the last four years in a series of stories.
Newly-elected Rep. Burgess Owens, from Utah’s 4th Congressional District, joined Utah Rep. Chris Stewart in opposing the Electoral College vote from Pennsylvania shortly after the Capitol was breached on Jan. 6 and has consistently sided with President Donald Trump’s claims that he won the presidential election.
The following is a brief timeline of his statements about Trump from late in his campaign through the present.
July 2020 – Appearance with Donald Trump Jr.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., appeared at an Owens campaign event in late July to help gain support and fundraise.
“We need more pioneers and outsiders, like Burgess, in Washington, D.C.,” Trump Jr. said.
August 2020 — Trump endorsement
Owens endorsed Trump for president on the third night of the Republican National Convention.
“We need leaders who stand by their principles and won’t compromise their values for political opportunities,” Owens said in his speech. “We need leaders who stand up to the lawlessness supported by the radical left.”
“During the Trump administration, business ownership by Blacks, Hispanics and females have reached all time highs,” he said. “We’re just getting started.”
November 2020 – A narrow victory
Owens narrowly defeated Democrat Ben McAdams for the U.S. House seat representing Utah’s 4th Congressional District in the November 2020 election.
Owens secured 47.7% of the vote, compared to incumbent McAdams’s 46.7% – a margin of only 4,000 votes.
Owens was sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2021.
December 2020 – “There’s no question in my mind that I think he won”
Owens told The Salt Lake Tribune he intended to vote against the upcoming Electoral College certification.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Owens said. “Seventy-plus percent of conservatives say that this (election) is not fair.”
When asked if he really believed Trump won the election, he replied, “Absolutely. Yes, I do. There’s no question in my mind that I think he won.”
January 2021 – Opposed electoral college
Owens joined the group of 147 Republican members of Congress who voted not to certify the states’ electoral votes.
He tweeted a joint statement on the morning of Jan. 6 expressing 37 Republicans’ motivations for doing so.
“Proud to sign this statement alongside so many of my colleagues,” he said. “We owe it to the American people to protect the integrity of our electoral system. Period.”
