‘That anger was hope the whole time’: Democrat McAdams returns to Congress in Utah’s CD1

Utah christened its blue 1st Congressional District as former U.S. House Rep. Ben McAdams won with 72% of votes, according to preliminary results Tuesday night. Republican Riley Owen had 25% of votes.

Libertarian Jesse West got 2% of votes, unaffiliated candidate Elias Henry Montgomery had 1%, and nonpartisan Babak “Bobby” Darvish, a last-minute write-in candidate, had less than one percent of votes.  

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The Associated Press called the race Tuesday night after 53% of votes were counted.

This is the first time a Democrat is set to be elected to represent Utah in Congress since McAdams lost his reelection bid in 2020 by tight margins. McAdams’ return comes as Democratic wins across the country reclaimed control of the U.S. House for the party, according to national results.

A crowded event celebrating Utah Democratic Party candidates erupted in cheers as they refreshed the state’s election results website to show McAdams’ lead, and again when he made his way onstage shortly after.

McAdams thanked those who worked to pass and defend Proposition 4, which in 2018 started the redistricting battle that led to the state’s current congressional map.

“Tonight, the district that you fought to create, the people in the district that you wanted to create, the people of Salt Lake County picked their own representative,” McAdams told the crowd. “So before anything else, I want to address everyone who signed a petition, who sat in a courtroom, who refused to believe that the Legislature should decide the outcome of our elections before anyone voted. This seat exists because you would not let it go.”

Utah’s election results aren’t final until county and state canvasses are completed in two weeks.

McAdams also addressed those who didn’t vote for him, promising he’d work for all his constituents and would make all decisions based on who will pay for them.

To those frustrated with the Trump administration over the past two years, McAdams sent a message about their “anger.”

“You don’t get angry about something that you’ve given up on. You don’t speak up unless you believe your voice matters. You don’t protest unless you think that somebody might listen, you don’t show up unless some part of you believes that this place is still worth fighting for,” he said. “That anger was hope the whole time.”

Many in the watch party chanted “USA, USA” after McAdams’ speech — and a DJ played “Party in the USA.”

McAdams also said he spoke on the phone with Owen, his Republican opponent, applauding his campaign.

“Riley has served this country in uniform, and he ran a campaign about ideas. We argued about tariffs and talked about housing, not about each other. Utah and the country could use more of that.” McAdams said.

He applauded the victories Democrats saw happen across the country Tuesday and voters’ “incredible enthusiasm” nationwide.

“This is trust that the voters have given to us, but this is trust that’s borrowed, and now it’s our turn to earn it,” he told Utah News Dispatch. “So what I’ve heard on the doorsteps is people are really hurting. They’re worried about putting food on the table. How they’re going to put gas in the gas tank, and whether they can pay rent at the end of the month. And so I think this is where Democrats need to step in.”

The Utah Democrats’ event included other candidates, including Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and Democratic state Reps. Verona Mauga and John Arthur, who are seeking reelection. But all eyes were on McAdams.

About 30 minutes before the results were announced, a handful of partygoers surrounded McAdams for photos, or to briefly discuss out-of-state results in which Democrats prevailed. Energy was high and smiles were big as they mentioned Georgia and North Carolina big wins.

The flip comes after a yearslong anti-gerrymandering legal fight in Utah that resulted in new congressional maps, decided in court. That included new boundaries for the 1st Congressional District, representing Salt Lake County, the state’s most populous area and a blue dot in a deep red state.

One of Utah’s hottest Democratic races shows how far left voters are willing to go 

The challenges to Utah’s congressional maps are not expected to be over any time soon. But for now, the court victory has deeply energized Democrats. McAdams’ nomination was decided in a packed primary that tested how far left voters were willing to go.

During his time in office, McAdams was considered one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress. But being “moderate” isn’t a label he’s ashamed to carry, though McAdams prefers to call himself “pragmatic.”

“Ultimately, I think the people who are counting on me, they don’t care what I say. They don’t care where I fall on the political spectrum. They care (about) what changes and makes their lives better,” McAdams told reporters after a September debate. “That’s what drives me as a public servant, is to make hard decisions, and work with people who sometimes I don’t like, certainly I don’t agree with, but to sit down with them to make the decisions, implement the policies that are going to make their lives better.”

During that debate McAdams and Owen, a naval officer and former White House staffer toward the end of President Donald Trump’s first term, agreed on some policy questions with Owen often splitting from the Trump administration’s agenda. 

Owen, however, later told reporters that what he believes to be the biggest distinction between him and his opponent, is that McAdams wants “bigger government,” while he wants more market-based incentives.

Owen was the only Utah Republican candidate Trump didn’t endorse in a social media post ahead of the election.