{"id":630,"date":"2026-06-24T04:17:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T04:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630"},"modified":"2026-06-24T04:17:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T04:17:58","slug":"the-last-democrat-utah-sent-to-congress-is-one-step-closer-to-returning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630","title":{"rendered":"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Former Rep. Ben McAdams fended off progressive candidates in Utah\u2019s new 1st Congressional District primary on Tuesday, advancing to a general election contest that heavily favors Democrats.<\/p>\n

Read more D.C. Officials Are Investigating Dead Ducklings in the Reflecting Pool<\/a><\/p>\n

McAdams, who was one of the most conservative Democrats when he served in the House from 2019 to 2021, is projected to beat Nate Blouin, Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell, three progressive contenders.<\/p>\n

The primary was a proxy battle for Democrats\u2019 larger ideological fight<\/u><\/span> over the electability of moderates versus progressives. And in the nationwide redistricting reshuffle that Republicans have worked to make an advantage, the Utah seat is a bright spot for Democrats. McAdams will face the Republican candidate Riley Owen this fall.<\/p>\n

McAdams has styled himself as a pragmatist and during the primary had to defend his record in Congress \u2014 including his support of a bill that allowed doctors to refuse to perform abortions because of their personal beliefs in 2019, as well as votes against and war powers<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

His campaign made an effort to focus on progressive victories he fought for, like statewide LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections, Medicaid expansion and environmental protection legislation.<\/p>\n

Read more DHS Loosens Travel Rules for Iranian World Cup Team<\/a><\/p>\n

Utah\u2019s 1st Congressional District was drawn into existence by a court-ordered, independent nonpartisan redistricting commission after a state court ruled that the old map illegally diluted Democratic votes in Salt Lake County.<\/p>\n

Some Democrats in the district fear that the blue dot won\u2019t be around forever, which made McAdams an even more attractive choice to them because he\u2019d won a toss-up seat in the past.<\/p>\n

Jeff Merchant, a former chair of the state\u2019s Democratic Party, voted for McAdams because he could fight for progressive causes in Congress while still being a pragmatic Democrat who would stand a chance of keeping the seat if the lines were to shift again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we elected a strong progressive, they would be there for two years, and then they would be defending a seat that would be almost impossible for a progressive to win in 2028,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more The Senate Rebukes Trump on Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben McAdams, the former congressman, beat progressive candidates in the red state\u2019s new, solidly blue district.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-election"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben McAdams, the former congressman, beat progressive candidates in the red state\u2019s new, solidly blue district.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T04:17:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T04:17:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630\"},\"wordCount\":372,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2026 Election\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630\",\"name\":\"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T04:17:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams speaks at a forum for candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo\\\/Hannah Schoenbaum)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=630#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Home Journals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning - Modern Home Journals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning - Modern Home Journals","og_description":"Ben McAdams, the former congressman, beat progressive candidates in the red state\u2019s new, solidly blue district.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T04:17:58+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning","datePublished":"2026-06-24T04:17:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630"},"wordCount":372,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["2026 Election"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630","name":"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-24T04:17:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/edf34ad2b29b19632d4106203dec544f-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706,"caption":"Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams speaks at a forum for candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo\/Hannah Schoenbaum)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=630#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Last Democrat Utah Sent to Congress Is One Step Closer to Returning"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/","name":"Modern Home Journals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/modernhomejournals.com"],"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}