Ever since the new, blue-leaning 1st Congressional District was set in stone for the 2026 midterms, one question has lingered. Just how progressive will district voters go?
State Sen. Nate Blouin is betting that these voters are more progressive than many give them credit for, and that he’s their man. Ahead of the lone Democratic primary debate, he released a self-funded poll to determine the most popular progressive candidate to take on former congressman Ben McAdams, who’s widely viewed as a centrist. He told KUER that if he’s not the top name among himself, Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell, he’ll drop out.
“At this late juncture, we've got to find a way forward to make sure that we put forward the best, best path to beat Ben McAdams,” he said.
The centerpiece of Blouin’s claim to the progressive mantle in Utah is his endorsement from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Blouin has been involved in politics at the local level since 2022, when he won his state Senate seat in District 13. Since then, he’s been a progressive voice in the Legislature championing policy on the Great Salt Lake, immigration enforcement and the economy.
On all accounts, Blouin has worked to keep his Republican colleagues accountable as well, often voting no on policies that don't meet his moral code. That hasn't necessarily led to any of his own bills being passed.
When asked how his lack of progress as a state lawmaker would translate to a congressional level, he said passing bills shouldn't define a legislator in a state like Utah.
“I think that's a problem with how we have defined success in Utah,” he said. “I think the only measure that so many people are looking at is how many bills you can pass, and when that is the dynamic in a state like Utah, it leads people to compromise their values.”
Since he started his race for Congress, Blouin has hit a few potholes. Decades-old online posts surfaced days before the state convention, where he did not perform as anticipated by pundits. Blouin apologized for his remarks, and his campaign ad targeting McAdams acknowledges that nobody is perfect.
KUER sat down with each Democratic 1st District candidate for a primary election profile. You can read interviews with Michael Farrell, Ben McAdams and Liban Mohamed. This interview with Nate Blouin has been edited for length and clarity.
What would you bring to Congress that's different?
The same thing I brought to the Legislature, which I think is different and unique in Utah, which is someone who's really willing to challenge the status quo, to challenge the establishment.
We need to be trying to convince people to get behind us, and we can't do that if we are not trying to get people excited about the process, to get people involved, to put forward big, bold issues and solutions that I think people are craving and needing right now, you know, things like Medicare For All, things like raising the minimum wage. I mean, these are pieces of legislation that I have tried to move forward here in Utah. Not had a lot of success because of the political dynamics.
That's where I'm going to start in D.C., is trying to put forward those big policies that we can actually move forward with what should be a Democratic majority this coming year in the House, and then line it up for when we have the Senate back, which may be this year, may not be, and when we win the presidency back. I think that's what I'm going to strive for, is to bring these big solutions to challenge both Republicans and Democrats.
How would you describe your politics within the wide range of views that make up the Democratic Party?
I would say of the four candidates left, I am, you know, the Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive in this race with the backing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. I'm ready to get to work on day one.
I think just look at the track record, I am the one who's got the support, the ideas that I've already put forward that I'm going to actually try to get enacted for the entire country in D.C., and that's why you've seen folks like Bernie, like [U.S. Rep.] Pramila Jayapal, like [U.S. Rep.] Maxwell Frost, like [state Rep.] Sahara Hayes here in Utah, you know, get behind me is because they see this as an opportunity to really send someone who's going to fight for progressive values, for left-leaning values here in Utah, at the federal level.
If elected, you're likely to be the only Democrat in the delegation. How would you work with your fellow Utah representatives in Washington?
Right, so I touched on this, and I think this is a key point, is like I look at this as an oppositional role. I look at this as continuing the role that I've played in the Legislature, which is to stand up to President [Stuart] Adams, to speak up on this on the floor of the Senate, and get my microphone shut off, because they don't like what I have to say.
That's going to be the same role I play in, you know, an adversarial position to the other five members of this delegation. When we see eye to eye on something, you know, if they want to work in concert to seek billions of dollars in funding for Great Salt Lake, like we need, great. I was just seeing [Rep.] Blake Moore today talking about how he wants to convene the governors to solve redistricting, and I'm like, that's a ridiculous solution. The governors are never going to get together and solve this at their level. But if he wants to put forward an actual policy, like Democrats have passed that he voted against in the past, let's work on that.
How do you want to shape policy around fast-growing AI technology?
This is something I've been thinking about for quite a long time, as someone who worked in clean energy several years ago and has worked on AI and data center policy in the Legislature. We need a moratorium, so that's where I'm aligned with Bernie Sanders, because we need to figure out what comes next. We can't keep investing like literally trillions of dollars in this stuff without actually thinking through.
So that probably means restrictions on emissions. You know, this data center proposed up in Box Elder County would like double or more the state's total emissions, because it's gigantic. I look at it more as a gigantic natural gas facility than a data center. We need to think about the environmental side in areas that, you know, are water scarce. Let's make sure we aren't contributing to that by building data centers in those areas. Let's make sure that we are not contributing to air quality issues like we have here in Utah by building gigantic emissions facilities, and let's get the land use right. Let's make sure we are not bulldozing over Native American grave sites, because that's another issue we've seen up there.
So I think it goes beyond just looking here in Utah and looking nationally at, let's take a pause, let's come back when we have actual policies to pass that say here's how we want to move forward in certain places where it makes sense. It may not in a state like Utah. I think that's critical to address this as a nationwide issue, though, and not to just look at Utah in particular.
What are some of your priorities when it comes to environmental policy?
I mean, Great Salt Lake is number one, right? That's the acute issue that ties in so many of those different pieces. It's an air quality issue, and it's an ecological disaster. We're seeing the bird populations be devastated because they don't have the resources they need to survive up there. You're seeing wildlife populations who have counted on having islands out there that are no longer islands to seclude themselves.
So, we're seeing so many different vulnerabilities coming out of Great Salt Lake. We need a whole lot of money. That billion that Trump promised is fine. I'm sure there's going to be some weird strings attached, but looking for that sort of ongoing funding to secure water rights, to secure leases and the infrastructure needed to actually get water to the lake, and then the policies to actually ensure that it does. To look at water rights and to move forward in a way that actually gets water to the lake is critical.
We can't be building gigantic new emissions facilities like the Stratos Project, and we need to rein in big utilities like Pacific Corp. I mean, they at one point had pretty strong environmental goals, and then the administration at the federal level changed, and they've reversed course on all of those, and just want to build a bunch more natural gas. So I think really taking on big utilities, monopolies that are just extracting from our communities, polluting our communities and making very wealthy people even more wealthy. That is something I am excited to take on and really challenge.
What's the first thing you would do to address Utah's cost of living?
Medicare For All is a big piece. So, reducing medical costs for people, insurance costs for folks, you know, that's something I've heard from constituents that I represent now, after those premium subsidies expired on the ACA [Affordable Care Act], going from like 500 bucks a month to 1,500 bucks a month. People can't plan for that. So we've got to move towards Medicare For All that actually gets everyone covered at low costs and reduces the overall cost of the system, gets the pharmacy benefit managers and the other, you know, bloat in the middle out of the picture, and allows people to get the care they need at a reasonable cost. So I think that would be a huge driver.
Housing would be number two. Well, maybe it's 1-A. They're both right hand in hand. But addressing the corporate power that has driven up housing prices, we need to ban algorithmic price fixing and collusion that's happening from some of these big companies that have purchased homes and are either reselling them or renting them, and really, I mean, taking billions of dollars in additional rents out of tenants. And also enacting tenant protections that actually work for people, because Utah is a state that has done very poorly at protecting tenants and gives a lot of leeway to bad landlords. We need to address those and also refocus on public housing and making sure that the federal government is actually allowed to invest in public housing, because there's a cap right now that's been in law for I think decades that basically prevents the federal government from investing in that space.
So I think a combination of those sorts of policies will help to bring costs down, and then we need to stop the stupid wars, the terrible foreign policy that has enabled genocide in Gaza. That allowed Trump to go into Iran at Israel's behest and drop more bombs over there. Every day we spend billions of dollars overseas on death and destruction, and we should be spending that here in our country to reduce food costs, to build schools, to build hospitals, to help actual people here in our country. And then focus on foreign policy that's actually humane and focused on diplomacy and humanitarianism, rather than just blowing people up.
