SALT LAKE CITY — Deseret News readers first heard about Blake Moore Nov. 4, 1997, for his accomplishments as a straight-A student at Ogden High School, where as the star quarterback he led his Tigers football team to its first playoff victory since 1983.
Flash forward to 2020, when on Nov. 4, the Deseret News once again detailed Moore’s success, this time after the political newcomer secured victory in the general election, claiming the 1st Congressional District seat representing northern and eastern Utah.
Moore, 40, doesn’t appear to do anything halfway.
That trait may be engrained from childhood. As the youngest of five children, Moore had to jostle among his siblings to stand out, to earn his place, to carve out his own path.
It was likely reinforced when he landed a prestigious job as a U.S. Foreign Service officer, working in both the United States and China.
Moore said “going all in,” had to be his mantra when he decided to enter the 1st District race to replace Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, becoming one of a dozen GOP candidates jockeying to survive the state convention or collect enough signatures to get on the primary ballot.
The Ogden native chose to take his chances at the convention, where he emerged as one of the top picks among delegates and went on to beat established elected leaders such as Davis County Commissioner Bob Stevenson, Kaysville Mayor Katie Witt and former Utah legislator and former Weber County Commissioner Kerry Gibson in the primary.
“We had a really strong volunteer network that helped us finish in the top two at convention,” Moore said. “It was a surprise to me. It is tough to establish name recognition ... I think we were able to establish a fresh, new perspective and people liked that about our campaign.”
To Moore, relationships matter.
Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah), second from left, poses for a portrait with sons George Moore, Max Moore, Winston Moore and wife Jane Moore outside of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah, right, helps his son Winston Moore adjust his glasses outside of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah, left, puts out a hand for his son George Moore in the backyard of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah, left, throws a snowball at one of his sons as another son, George Moore, watches outside of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
George Moore, center, takes a play break in the snow between portraits with his brother Max Moore, right, and father, Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah, holding Winston Moore, outside of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah, right, takes a play break between portraits with sons George Moore, left, and Max Moore, center, outside of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Rep.-elect Blake Moore, R-Utah, second from left, poses for a portrait with sons Max Moore, left, George Moore, center, Winston Moore and wife Jane Moore outside of their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
His personal network stretches into Logan where he went to Utah State University, his hometown of Ogden and into the Uinta Basin where he has family.
His professional sphere crosses many spectrums.
“I left a Zoom call from people across every industry,” he said one afternoon in December. “We had energy, transportation, health care and finance,” Moore said. “My management consulting with Cicero over the last decade has taught me how to be a problem solver, to think through on how to accomplish something. That is the message we tried to share during the campaign, and it continued to catch on.”
Moore, who has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and a master’s in public policy and administration from Northwestern University, said he had a lot of supporters tell him during the campaign that he had victory “in the bag,” but he didn’t quite see it that way.
“I never had that type of foresight or that reality until Tuesday night of the election when we saw the results coming in. It was a really, really great night.”
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In January, Moore will take over for Bishop, an eight-term GOP congressman who announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection.
Bishop is the ranking member and at one point chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources — a critical role for a state like Utah with its abundance of natural resources and vast amounts of land under the purview of federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
Moore said he has interest in serving on that committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, given his national and international experience in foreign policy.
“It’s a strong interest for me and whether I am on the Foreign Affairs Committee or not, I will have an interest in our foreign policy. It is not limited to committee work.”
When it comes to foreign policy, Moore has made clear that the United States needs to be strong on the world stage and look after its interests.
“Here is what I am concerned about: I don’t want the United States to be taken advantage of. We need to make sure all partners are contributing their fair share (such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization). It is never going to be equal, but it has to be congruent to what the nations are doing. We need to be involved in international organizations and America needs to lead in those areas.”
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The Paris climate accord is one example of where Moore said the United States should make sure there is equity. And if the United States revisits the Iran nuclear deal that President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018, he stressed it is critical the arrangement has teeth.
“We have to hold Iran accountable. We need to be strong. I am open to a diplomatic solution in any way, shape or form, but we can’t let Iran skirt their responsibilities,” he said.
Critics of the deal said it lifted permanent sanctions against the hostile actor while not requiring spontaneous inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency of Iran’s facilities or military installations. The deal also had a sunset provision that lifted restrictions on Iran’s uranium-enrichment and plutonium reprocessing after 10 to 15 years.
Supporters, however, said it was a historic diplomatic solution negotiated under President Barack Obama that provided four clear pathways for blocking nuclear weapons development by Iran.
President-elect Joe Biden has said the United States would rejoin the deal.
“We don’t want to be at a disadvantage. I do believe we get taken advantage of as a country given that we are a superpower” with some of these international arrangements, Moore added.
In the arena of diplomacy, Moore and his Democratic rival Darren Perry demonstrated their commitment to a clean contest in the general election campaign this year.
While the race for the 4th Congressional District was peppered with nasty barbs and potshots, the same was not true for the 1st District.
Both Moore and Parry praised each other and kept the dialogue civil during debates and on the campaign trail, a stark contrast to the tone of national races.
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Moore said he believes that is how politics needs to happen — respectfully disagreeing but abiding by civility.
“It’s been a lot to take in,” Moore said, describing his experiences during orientation in Washington, D.C.
“You have to tell yourself you are in this with 57 other members who are incoming freshmen ... I’ve been developing relationships with people in Congress and with newcomers,” he said. “So much of this effectiveness you have back there is about establishing relationships.”
In December, Moore announced key staffers to lead his office, naming Rachel Wagley as his chief of staff in Washington. She has served in the office of Rep. Ann Wagner, R- Mo., and graduated from Harvard University cum laude with high honors in her field. She served as a Fulbright grantee in Thailand and earned her master’s degree in defense and strategic studies with distinction at the U.S. Naval War College.
Chase K. Christiansen will be Moore’s deputy chief of staff for the district. He advised Moore in his congressional campaign, focusing on marketing and communications strategies. As a native of Hooper, Weber County, Christiansen previously worked in marketing roles for Cicero Group, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development and several small businesses within Utah’s outdoor recreation industry.
Moore tapped Peter Jenks, Bishop’s district director for nearly 18 years, to serve in that position for him. Jenks was also special assistant and district director for former Rep. James V. Hansen, R-Utah, in the 1st District for nine years. He has a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The young incoming congressman says he plans to spend as much time as he can in the 1st District to work with his constituents on key issues like the protection of Hill Air Force Base, growing manufacturing, promoting outdoor recreation both as an asset and as a niche industry in Ogden and working on behalf of educational institutions.
It’s important, too, for him to be able to spend quality time with his wife, Jane, and their three boys: Max, 8, and twins George and Winston, who they affectionately call Winnie.
“I travel a lot for my current job and we have always made it work,” he said.
Beyond his family and politics, Moore said his big passion is little league coaching.
He recalled that a neighbor’s father was visiting her and he told the woman her children needed more discipline.
“She replied, ‘It is OK, Blake Moore is their little league coach. They get enough discipline Saturday mornings.”
He said he tells his young team that the most important thing about the sport is to have fun, and the way you have fun is to win.
“I like to have structure. I like to go get it.”
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