If you were to ask, it’s a safe bet that Ben McAdams would be near the top of the list of well-known Utah Democrats. Before running for the state’s new, blue-leaning 1st Congressional District, he’s been involved in politics at almost every level.
An attorney by trade, McAdams’ first foray into politics was as a Salt Lake City government policy advisor almost two decades ago. He later went on to serve as a state senator, mayor of Salt Lake County and was the last Democrat to represent Utah in Congress in the former 4th District from 2019-2021.
A record of public service that long can invite criticism. McAdams is widely seen as the more centrist of the four candidates in the race and has faced scrutiny over past votes. One analysis even ranked him as the most conservative Democrat in the single term he served in Congress.
“I have led and fought and won some of the toughest battles that Utah Democrats have fought,” he said. “When you have a record, you're going to get attacked for it. So, look, I've tackled tough issues, I've had to make tough choices. That's what leaders do, and I'm proud of my track record.”
Today, he describes his politics as pragmatic.
During the Democratic primary debate, McAdams also took heat for a financial stake in a data center project near Delta in Millard County. McAdams told the audience he was “the only candidate who has worked to make a data center better by adding renewable energy” and clarified that he was compensated in stock options for consulting work he did on the project two years ago.
McAdams is leaning heavily on name recognition and his political chops to carry him to victory in the primary. He pointed to his 2018 victory over a Republican incumbent in a more conservative district as proof positive that his brand of politics has wide appeal, no matter the voters.
“I think [that win was] because people saw that I was somebody who built coalitions and moved the needle and implemented solutions,” he said. “They're hungry for effectiveness, they're hungry for somebody who's going to get something done.”
KUER sat down with each Democratic 1st District candidate for a primary election profile. You can read interviews with Nate Blouin, Michael Farrell and Liban Mohamed. This interview with Ben McAdams has been edited for length and clarity.
What would you bring to Congress that's different?
I have a track record of getting things done. You know, I'm somebody who looks at the toughest issues that are facing our community, and I take them head-on, build coalitions and get it done.
I also am somebody who will stand up to corruption and tear down corrupt systems. I'd point to a few things. When I was in the state senate, I led the charge to advance LGBTQ equality. We got the non-discrimination protections passed in Utah, in one of the most conservative states in the country. When I was mayor, I tackled an opioid crisis, and homelessness, and crime on the streets.
When I was in Congress, I brought this ability to build coalitions and to tackle some of our toughest issues. And then I think the defining vote of my term in Congress was when the House was presented with articles of impeachment on Donald Trump. And I looked at the evidence, I took that serious. I knew that, you know, I represented a district that liked him, that had voted for him, and when I looked at what he had done, I came to the conclusion that it warranted impeachment, that he had violated his oath of office and deserved to be removed from office. So I voted to impeach Donald Trump, knowing it would probably cost me my re-election.
So I hope that voters will see me and see my track record as somebody who has a long list of accomplishments of getting things done, of building coalitions to tackle our toughest problems, but I'm also somebody who stands up to corruption with courage and without hesitation to do what's right.
How would you describe your politics within the wide range of views that make up the Democratic Party?
My politics are what I would define as pragmatic.
I think that there are people who are counting on us to solve the issues that we're facing, that people are seeing — high gas prices, high cost of housing. The Great Salt Lake is an existential question for us, and are we going to send somebody to Congress who is going to tweet and say the right things? Everybody in this race is going to say the right things. I believe that we need to send somebody to Congress who has proven an ability to get things done.
You know, we seem to fall into this, I think, false notion that if you are passionate about an issue, you will light your hair on fire and burn everything to the ground. Well, I come from a belief that if you care deeply about an issue, you will work with anybody, even people you disagree with, to get it done.
If elected, you're likely to be the only Democrat in the delegation. How would you work with your fellow Utah representatives in Washington?
Look, I'll do what I've always done, and that is I will build coalitions and find common ground, but I'm never going to be afraid to stand my ground.
And I think the Great Salt Lake's a good issue that is going to be bipartisan. This is about the air we breathe, and our lungs don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, so I'll work with our delegation to move the needle on that.
The leadership people will see from me is someone who builds coalitions to move the needle on housing and affordability, and air quality, and the Great Salt Lake, but also somebody who will be proud to stand my ground when I think that our delegation is out of sync, which they often are.
How do you want to shape policy around fast-growing AI technology?
I would start by saying if we could put the genie back in the bottle, I would do that.
The reality is, AI is transforming society in some good ways and many bad ways, right? We need to have a federal approach to AI that we are protecting people's data privacy. As we see disruptions coming to the economy, that we are proactively thinking about how to help regular working people land on their feet. We see oligarchs that are profiting from the system at the expense of everybody else, and that can't be the case. We have to see that this transformative technology is lifting everyday Utahns, and we need to have standards in place that protect our air quality and protect the Great Salt Lake. That these data centers are not a burden on the communities where they're located. We've made the wrong call in Box Elder [County]. Hopefully, there's an opportunity to revisit that and push back.
But stepping more out and looking more broadly, you know, I don't categorically oppose data centers under any scenario. I think there's a way that they can be done that minimizes water use, that is powered by clean and renewable energy.
And then looking more broadly at AI, I think this is a transformative technology. It's going to cure diseases, prolong human life, enhance quality of life, but we have to be at the forefront of making sure that's done responsibly and that it lifts everybody, not just enriches a few.
What are some of your priorities when it comes to environmental policy?
First of all, addressing climate change, and it starts locally, right? So we're seeing the impacts of both climate change that's impacting the Great Salt Lake, but we're also seeing just growth and how growth is affecting the Great Salt Lake.
We are in a drought, and certainly that is climate-induced, but it’s also — those challenges go to how we use our land, right? So addressing climate change is difficult. There's not an easy solution to do that, and that's why I think, again, it's going to take somebody who knows how to build coalitions and tackle some of our toughest problems.
When you get to climate change, whether it's water, reducing pollution, transitioning to a clean energy economy, Utah can be a hub for geothermal energy. Look, I'm following very closely what's happening in the Delta area with geothermal energy. We can be a place that is generating clean energy through solar and wind power and I think Utah has the opportunity to lead out on that and to showcase how we can be at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions and doing our part to make sure that we mitigate the impacts of climate change.
What's the first thing you would do to address Utah's cost of living?
Well, I think the first thing we can do is to stop these tariffs that are driving up the cost of food, driving up the cost of construction, the cost of housing.
In some ways, certainly, inflation is complicated, but in some ways it's not. You know, in some ways, it's just stopping Donald Trump and being a check on his power. This reckless war in Iran that was ill-conceived, launching us into potentially an endless war without any pathway for, you know, goals or objectives on what would constitute success. And what we've seen is — that has just driven up the cost of energy for everybody, and with really no end in sight. So I think stepping up to be a check and accountability on the powers of this president.
Over the last five years, since I've been out of public office, I've been doing a lot of work on housing and housing affordability. And I work with cities and counties and states across the country to help them develop policies to bring down the cost of housing in their communities, and so I'll be coming into Congress with ideas and concepts and proposals.
That's not going to be something that we fix overnight by ending a war or ending a tariff. We've got more systemic challenges with housing, but it's something that I have a lot of expertise and knowledge in working on. I'd love to jump back in and to bring some of those ideas that I've had and developed over the last five years into enacting solutions.
