Ben McAdams, a moderate former representative, won the Democratic primary race in Utah’s newly redrawn House district around Salt Lake City, The Associated Press said on Tuesday.
Mr. McAdams, who served one term from 2019 to 2021 before losing his re-election bid, will be strongly favored to return to Congress this fall, after court-ordered redistricting led to the creation of a heavily liberal congressional district in deep-red Utah.
The newly redrawn map featured a district so liberal, in fact, that Mr. McAdams, a Latter-day Saint, had to distance himself from some past positions he took in his campaigns in more difficult territory. In the past, Mr. McAdams expressed opposition to abortion, but he distanced himself from that stance this year and said he would vote to restore nationwide access to the procedure.
Mr. McAdams faced opposition from a few progressives, including Nate Blouin, a state senator backed by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But they could not keep up with Mr. McAdams’s greater name recognition among voters in the area, where he served for years as county mayor.
He was also bolstered by millions of dollars in outside spending from committees associated with the artificial intelligence industry and with a group that works to elect centrist Democrats.
Utah Democrats viewed the contest as a prime opportunity to appeal to disaffected voters in a state that has been dominated by Republicans. Though Utahns have supported President Trump, many of them — especially Latter-day Saint voters — remain fond of an old-school style of conservatism.
Mr. McAdams could be well situated to appeal to such voters, especially with Republicans aiming to redraw the congressional map in the future and restore a more conservative district.
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