Congressional District 1 (“CD1”): Blouin, Farrell, Mahmoud, and McAdams
Insights on Democrats' four-way primary for Congressional District 1.
About this race
Congressional District 1 (“CD1”) is one of Utah’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Utah has four House representatives who work full-time in Washington, D.C. (as well as in local offices).
Because House members vote on issues like healthcare, taxes, public lands, infrastructure, immigration, and education, these races can have a significant impact on both Utah and national policy.
With the recent redistricting of federal house districts to match Utah Proposition 4, this year CD 1—which covers much of Salt Lake City down to mid-Salt Lake and Summit Counties—leans likely Democrat.
Only the Democratic hopefuls have a primary for this office. Between convention and signatures, four candidates qualified for the Democratic Primary: Liban Mohamed, Nate Blouin, Michael Farrell, and Ben McAdams.
Find out what we’re looking for in candidates.
Candidates
Liban Mohamed
About: Born and raised in Utah. Mr. Mohamed earned his degree from the University of Utah and worked at the American Heart Association, then more recently in public policy at Meta and TikTok.
Top Policies (from website): Against corporate and PAC spending; for healthcare reform, universal child care, affordable housing, the environment (specifically the Great Salt Lake), and big tech accountability.
Our take: We were intrigued by Mr. Mohamed after Democratic delegates selected him as their top pick at the Democratic convention this spring (and delegates tend to do their research). Mr. Mohamed espouses fairly typical progressive policies, which we would not describe as “moderate,” but we have been impressed by his seeming interest in representing all constituents.
Nate Blouin
About: Moved to Utah in 2009 as a young adult, later graduating from Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah before receiving his Masters in Public Affairs. Current Utah state senator.
Top policies (from website): Take on monopolies, enact Medicare for All, tax billionaires, support education and child tax credits, preserve public lands, overturn Citizens United, and more.
Our take: Mr. Blouin recently caught attention for what even he termed “vulgar” remarks a decade ago that targeted Latter-day Saints and even sexual assault victims. We do note that he publicly apologized for these words. We’re perhaps more concerned that during Mr. Blouin’s four years in the state legislature, he’s failed to compromise to pass any legislation, with no definite plans to change—not exactly a strong track record of working across the aisle to help his constituents. (See his record).
Michael Farrell
About: Moved to Utah in 2022 (his wife is from Utah). Practices as a tax attorney with a background in economics and U.S. and international tax law.
Top Policies (from website): Increasing the tax rates on the wealthiest Americans; raising the minimum wage; providing universal child care and parental leave; establishing Medicare for All, adopting term limits and banning Congressional stock trading; and protecting reproductive and LGBTQ rights.
Our take: Mr. Farrell’s policies lean typical of young progressives. While these are not “moderate,” if these are the policies you prefer, he may be your candidate. We note with some consternation a line from his website denigrating moderate candidates (“feckless moderates”).
Ben McAdams
About: Originally from Bountiful, Utah. Mr. McAdams formerly served in the Salt Lake City mayor’s office, in Utah State Senate, as the mayor of South Salt Lake, and one term in the U.S. House from 2018–2020.
Top priorities: Lowering housing costs and building economic security for working families; defending democracy and the rule of law; protecting the environment; and defending human rights.
Our take: We were hoping to recommend Mr. McAdams, whose platform and public persona are undeniably the most moderate of the bunch. Unfortunately, we’ve heard of enough experiences from friends who worked with him to have reservations recommending him. From the public record, we note that Mr. McAdams’ homeless proposals while Salt Lake County Mayor reduced the number of homeless shelter beds and there was disagreement about endorsements he published without permission. See his voting record.
Conclusion
We decline to endorse any candidates in this race.
We do recommend that voters continue your research on these candidates! Find info on their official websites (linked above), by reaching out and calling or meeting them, and/or by watching their debates. See most recent debate for yourself.
If you live within CD1 boundaries and want to vote in the Democratic Primary for Congressional District 1, good news: registered voters in the district can still request a Democratic party ballot by mail until June 12, without being a registered Democrat.
To repeat: unaffiliated voters and voters from any party can vote in the Democratic Party in person up during early voting and on Election Day. Request forms are county-specific; see Salt Lake County’s request form.
Happy voting!
Note: The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican candidate Riley Owens as well as Libertarian Jesse West in the general election for Congressional District 1.