SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The internal Democratic Party battle that has emerged in this year’s primaries between progressive and moderate candidates will play out Tuesday in an unlikely place, reliably red Utah.
A redraw of U.S. House districts has created a solidly left-leaning seat in the Salt Lake City area, prompting a flood of interest among Democrats.
Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, who by one analysis was considered the most conservative House Democrat during his single term in Congress, faces three candidates to his political left in the party’s primary in the 1st District. McAdams has sought to shed his reputation as a moderate, while his opponents have urged each other to drop out and clear a path for Utah to send its first progressive to Washington.
The other three of Utah’s four congressional seats are considered safely Republican, including the 3rd District, where Tuesday’s contest for the GOP nomination features a conservative challenger trying to knock off an incumbent congresswoman.
Utah is a rare Republican stronghold where the GOP is expected to lose one of its U.S. House seats following a lengthy legal battle over the previous districts.
That 1st District seat, along with a handful in California, is among the few anticipated Democratic pickups following a national redistricting fight that President Donald Trump started last year to try to help Republicans hold their majority in the U.S. House. Democrats need to net only a few seats in November to win control.
Former Democratic congressman tries to recast himself
Candidates in the new Salt Lake City-area district have tried to outflank one another on the left. That marks a departure from decades of Democrats trying to appeal to Utah’s mostly conservative electorate.
Because of how the 1st District was drawn, the Democratic primary winner will be strongly favored in the fall to defeat Republican Riley Owen. The intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve was chosen during the state GOP’s spring convention.
State Democrats are holding an open primary, meaning anyone in the district can vote, regardless of party affiliation. That could benefit a candidate such as McAdams, who has built a broad base.
McAdams previously described himself as pro-life and pitched himself as a moderate during his 2018 campaign, when he ousted a GOP incumbent in the midterms of Trump’s first term. This year, as he campaigns in a much more Democratic district, McAdams pledged his support for abortion rights and insisted that he’s only “moderate in tone.”
Other Democrats draw endorsements from prominent progressives
Among McAdams’ opponents is state Sen. Nate Blouin, a progressive firebrand in the Republican-controlled Legislature who is hoping to bounce back from a social media controversy.
Blouin apologized in April for several posts he made on internet forums between 2009 and 2015 that denigrated women and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah-based faith known widely as the Mormon church.
Blouin has tried to energize an electorate he said has grown accustomed to settling for someone who will “play nice” with Republicans. He has racked up endorsements from some of the country’s most prominent progressives, including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Greg Casar and Maxwell Frost.
Two political newcomers, Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell, also are vying for the seat.
Mohamed, a former Meta and TikTok employee, was a breakout star at the state’s Democratic convention earlier this year, where he emerged victorious after five rounds of ranked choice voting to earn the party’s backing in the primary over McAdams. His competitors still were able to qualify for the primary ballot by gathering signatures. Mohamed is backed by other prominent progressives, including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.
Former state lawmaker who was pardoned by Trump challenges GOP incumbent
Utah’s new congressional map also left Republican U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy vulnerable to a primary challenge from a candidate who is further to the right.
Maloy, who was endorsed by Trump, faces former state lawmaker Phil Lyman in the redrawn 3rd District, which spans most of southern and eastern Utah. Lyman embraced false claims of fraud following the 2020 presidential election and has long had the support of the state’s most conservative voters.
Lyman is best known for organizing an illegal ATV ride in 2014 in protest of a federal land decision. The ride came after federal officials closed a southeast Utah canyon to motorized vehicles to protect Native American cliff dwellings, artifacts and burial sites. He argued that the closure constituted overreach by the federal government.
A judge in 2015 sentenced him to 10 days in jail and three years probation after a jury found him guilty of misdemeanor illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy. Trump pardoned Lyman in December 2020.
Maloy was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2023 and was reelected to a full term in 2024. She worked previously as a soil conservationist and an attorney with a focus on public lands and water policy.
The winner will face Democratic nominee Kent Udell, an engineer, in the November general election. The GOP candidate is heavily favored to win in the deep red 3rd District.
Hannah Schoenbaum, The Associated Press
