House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy praised Provo Mayor John Curtis for being “a breath of fresh air” in a tense political climate while endorsing him Wednesday in the special election to fill Utah’s vacant congressional seat.

“He puts people before politics. That’s what’s going to make a difference in Washington,” said McCarthy, R-Calif., having flown into Salt Lake City to offer his support in person for the Republican candidate and front-runner.

As the second-highest ranking GOP member of the U.S. House, McCarthy’s support is another big name for Curtis to add to his growing list of backers that includes former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, whom the mayor is looking to replace.

Curtis also has a commanding lead heading toward the Nov. 7 special election, trumping his Democratic opponent Kathie Allen by a 27-point margin in the latest poll.

Though weeks remain in the 3rd District race, McCarthy said “we’re looking forward to [Curtis] getting sworn in quickly.” He hopes to wrangle the mayor, whom he called “a statesman,” into efforts to reform health care.

“I believe that if we come back to it after tax reform, we’ll look at it in a more bipartisan manner,” McCarthy said of the proposed plans to restructure Obamacare.

Insurance costs are rising in the current model, he added, and “we can do better than this.” He said he hopes Curtis, who’s been billed as a moderate, will work across the aisle.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Provo Mayor John Curtis speaks to the Salt Lake Tribune education board on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.

McCarthy said the first time he noticed the mayor was while Curtis worked to revitalize downtown Provo, bringing in Google Fiber and improving economic development along Center Street.

“I looked at him to try to pick his brain, his ideas of what he was doing to turn this city around and how he was creating one for all,” the majority leader said.