WASHINGTON — State Sen. Kathleen Riebe announced her congressional campaign on Wednesday, making her the first Democrat to jump into what is expected to be a crowded race to secure the party nomination for Utah’s newly redrawn 1st District.
Riebe made her bid official in an email statement on Wednesday morning after weeks of speculation that she would seek the congressional seat if the lines were favorable. Sources familiar with Riebe’s thinking had told the Deseret News she was strongly considering a run after a judge approved a map earlier this week establishing a strong Democratic-leaning House seat.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life, among them: teacher, truck driver, waitress, police dispatcher, barista, and forestry technician with a red card,” Riebe said in a statement. “I know what it’s like to struggle and what working families go through to make ends meet. Right now, working families are being left behind by Washington. Republicans promised to bring prices down, but instead costs have gone up with Trump’s reckless tariffs, and Republicans have slashed health care — all to give tax breaks to billionaires.”
Riebe was also motivated after a handful of Democrats in Washington approved a Republican spending bill to reopen the government this week without receiving any major concessions on Obamacare subsidies. That proved to Riebe that “we have to change the kind of representatives we send” to Congress, she said.
“In Congress, I’ll never back down from the fight to lower costs and increase healthcare affordability — and I won’t take a dime of corporate PAC money, so I’m only accountable to the people who sent me,” Riebe said. “I know how to get things accomplished in a divided government, and I’m ready to make Washington work for working families in Utah.”
Riebe’s announcement makes her the first of several Democrats to make their campaigns official, with former Rep. Ben McAdams expected to launch his own bid as early as Thursday. McAdams would benefit from name recognition in the district as well as his record of being a moderate candidate who can appeal to both Democrats and independent voters.
But McAdams could face a real challenge from more left-leaning Democrats, especially in a district that Kamala Harris won by more than 20 percentage points. That could provide an opening to Riebe, who told the Deseret News last month there have “been some changes” since he last ran that could work in her favor.
The potential flip for Democrats comes as the minority party only needs to net three seats in the 2026 midterm elections to wrest control of the House. National groups now view the newly drawn district as a prime pickup opportunity, and signaled to the Deseret News they are ready to pour resources into the Beehive State to ensure a victory.