Ben McAdams won the First Congressional District democratic primary for the upcoming Utah Senate election. Riley Owen ran uncontested in the Republican primary. They will face off in the November election.
McAdams has formerly served as Salt Lake County Mayor and Utah State Senator. He also represented Utah House District 4 in the 116th Congress. Karianne Lisonbee and Phil Lyman were defeated by incumbents Celeste Maloy and Blake Moore, respectively.
State House and Senate seats that represent the University of Utah will see the election in November.
First Congressional District
To begin his acceptance speech, McAdams thanked his family for supporting him.
McAdams has been criticized for not being progressive enough. At his acceptance speech, he said, “Tonight belongs to every Utahn who looked at this race and said, ‘We need someone with the courage to stand up and to stand alone and with the courage to reach across difference to get it done.’”
McAdams supported a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution when he served in the 116th Congress, which has been touted as conservative. That budget would have prohibited the federal government from spending any more money than it receives in a given fiscal year.
During his speech, McAdams spoke on current issues such as the Great Salt Lake, bringing down the costs of living and affordable healthcare. “These are not abstract problems; these are the daily reality of people counting on us to act,” he said.
McAdams stressed the issues he backed in the U.S. Senate. “I backed Obamacare, I fought to protect Obamacare. I worked to expand Medicaid and get thousands of people access to healthcare and treatment for addiction. I delivered the largest Federal investment in public land in a generation. I helped to secure LGBTQ protections in Utah when people said it could not be done. And when the defining vote in my term in Congress came, I stood my ground. I voted to impeach Donald Trump, knowing it would cost me my election. It did, and I would do it again,” he said to applause.
Support
He asked supporters of Nate Blouin, Liban Mohammed and Michael Farrell, who all ran against him, to support him. “The stakes right now could not be higher,” he said. “I know we all agree that it is important to send a democrat to congress that will fight and who will deliver.”
In a statement for the Chronicle, Blouin, who ran against McAdams for the seat and also currently represents District 13 in the Utah House, spoke about what this race did for the progressive values of Utah. “We forced conversations on data centers, ICE, and doubling down on reproductive freedom,” he said. “The progressive movement in Utah still has a long way to go, but we’ve helped forge the path forward, and we’ll keep organizing for a better Utah where public lands are protected, ICE is abolished, and reproductive freedom is secure.
Blouin attributed his loss to moderate democrats and campaign finances. “The system, the establishment, and all their money worked overtime to make sure we didn’t have a voice, but we put up a good fight against millions in outside spending and have everything to be proud of.”
University of Utah
The University of Utah sits within two House districts. The majority of it lies within House District 22, while northwest of Mario Capecchi Drive is represented by House District 23.
For HD22, both Jennifer Dailey-Provost, incumbent Democrat, and Char Varga, Republican, ran uncontested. The real race will be in the general election in November.
For HD23, Hoang Nguyen, incumbent Democrat, and Franklin Robinson, Republican, also both ran uncontested. Cabot Nelson, who represents the Forward Party of Utah, will also be on the ballot in November.
The U lies within the boundaries of Senate District 9, which is represented by Jen Plumb, Democrat. She will be running against Thaddeus Evans, Republican, and J. Lowry Snow, of the Forward Party of Utah, in the general election in November.
