Buckle up, because election season is here. Utah’s Democratic and Republican parties will hold their state nominating conventions on April 25. This year, there’s a twist. Things will play out differently for one reason: redistricting.
After the courts selected a redrawn congressional map late last year, the landscape is different. There are new boundaries, so current federal representatives had to choose where to run. Rep. Burgess Owens announced in March that he would retire. But the biggest change is a new 1st Congressional District centered on north Salt Lake County that is favorable for Democrats.
The Democrats
The last time a Democrat represented Utah in Congress was Ben McAdams in the old 4th district from 2019 to 2021. This year, he is running to head back to Washington, D.C, in the newly redrawn first.
At Saturday’s Democratic convention at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville, all eyes will be on McAdams and the five other candidates looking to become the party’s nominee. The challengers to McAdams include state Sen. Nate Blouin, Salt Lake City Councilor Eva Lopez Chavez, Liban Mohamed, Michael Farrell and Luis Villareal.
As of publication, only McAdams and Blouin have enough verified signatures to guarantee spots on the June primary ballot. Signatures will continue to be verified until the day before the convention, but if nothing changes, that means the rest of the field will be looking to win over enough delegates in order to continue.
The Democratic race has been characterized as a contest between the party’s younger, more progressive wing — largely represented by Blouin — and the establishment side led by McAdams.
The race was further complicated last week after Washington, D.C.-based Punchbowl News published a story detailing a series of online posts made by Blouin over a decade ago that mocked members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and repeatedly used vulgar language, appearing to joke about sexual battery and child sexual exploitation.
Blouin apologized for the posts and faced condemnation and calls from fellow Democrats to drop out of the race. Despite the backlash, he told The Salt Lake Tribune he doesn’t plan to drop out.
Which candidates will make it to the primary by way of signatures is still up in the air, as is whether Blouin’s online past is enough to funnel delegate support toward another candidate.
The Republicans
GOP delegates will convene at Utah Valley University to pick their candidates.
With the new 1st Congressional District largely out of play for Republicans this cycle, the bulk of the attention is on matchups in the other three districts, which all heavily favor Republicans.
In the 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses much of northern Utah, Rep. Blake Moore faces state lawmaker Karianne Lisonbee.
Moore has served in Congress since 2021 and currently is the House Republican Caucus Vice-Chair, making him a member of senior GOP leadership in D.C.
Moore largely occupies the “establishment” Republican lane and has angered some party loyalists over his past support for Utah’s anti-gerrymandering law, Prop 4, which was a factor in creating the now left-leaning district in Salt Lake County. Moore has since distanced himself from that effort.
Moore’s challenger, Lisonbee, is a well-known conservative in the Legislature who was the House sponsor of many abortion-related laws, including the near-total ban that's currently held up by the courts.
The 3rd Congressional District covers most of eastern and southern Utah, where Rep. Celeste Maloy is looking to remain in Congress for another term. She faces a strong challenge from former state lawmaker Phil Lyman.
GOP delegates previously supported Lyman in his 2024 run for governor — where he ultimately lost to Gov. Spencer Cox in the primary — and an unsuccessful but close bid for party leadership last year.
Maloy is no stranger to hard-fought victories, however, having scraped out wins in 2023 and 2024 against intraparty opposition.
Maloy and Moore have both qualified for the primary through signature gathering, so it’s win or go home for challengers Lyman and Lisonbee.
In the 4th Congressional District, Rep. Mike Kennedy will also seek to remain in Congress. He faces a slew of Republican challengers, but none have the name recognition he does. No candidates in that race have submitted signatures to appear on the primary ballot.
Convention winners and the candidates who qualified for the ballot through signature gathering will face off in the June 23 primary.
