WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has endorsed progressive candidate Nate Blouin to flip Utah’s new 1st District in next year’s midterm elections.
Sanders threw his support behind Blouin over the weekend, praising the state senator as a “fighter” who will challenge the Trump administration and Republican majorities in Congress. The endorsement comes after Blouin has already positioned himself to run as a progressive, arguing the D+12 seat offers Democrats in Utah a rare opportunity to run further to the left than previous campaigns.
“We need fighters in Congress who will take on powerful special interests and pass Medicare for All, lower prescription drug costs, build affordable housing and raise the minimum wage to a living wage. We need members of Congress who have the guts to demand that the billionaire class start paying their fair share of taxes,” Sanders said in a statement. “State Sen. Nate Blouin is that fighter.”
Blouin officially launched his campaign on Monday after formally announcing his plans last week. He joins an already-crowded field of candidates vying to flip the seat into Democratic control — a pool that includes Ben McAdams, the most recent Democrat to represent Utah in Congress.
At the time, McAdams relied heavily on his moderate platform to help win over both Democratic and independent voters — something that Blouin said would no longer be needed this time around.
“I’m honored to receive Sen. Sanders’ endorsement in my campaign for Utah’s 1st District,” Blouin said in a statement. “Utah has a real opportunity to help restore balance in Washington D.C., and voters here now have a clear choice between the status quo and a new path that meets the moment.”
Sanders’ support also gives a peek into the kind of platform Blouin is likely to champion: A progressive left working directly against what the Utah delegation has supported for years.
“I would be the lone Democrat in Utah’s congressional delegation. I would also be the only one not taking corporate PAC money,” Blouin told the Deseret News in an interview ahead of his campaign launch. “I wouldn’t fit in. But I’ve never been worried about fitting in. Our current delegation is pushing initiatives that are antithetical to my priorities.”
That type of campaign could resonate with the Democratic voters in the newly redrawn 1st District, especially if it is consistent with Utah Democrats’ support of Sanders in recent elections.
Sanders has often been a top choice among Utah Democrats in primary elections, garnering 80% of the vote over eventual nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. Sanders also defeated Joe Biden, who went on to win the presidency, in Utah’s 2020 primary with 36% of the vote compared to Biden’s 18%.
Recent polling in Utah also hints at progressive leanings among Utah Democrats. A recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey showed Utah Democrats polled farther to the left than those nationwide when it came to views on democratic socialism.
Democratic socialism — the political ideology espoused by Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — was viewed favorably by 61% of Democrats nationally. But it was viewed favorably by 70% of Democrats in Utah.
That dynamic has convinced left-leaning organizers in Utah that they have a better shot at electing a more progressive candidate in the new 1st Congressional District than they do in the Salt Lake City mayoral race or other municipal elections in Democrat-heavy districts.
The new map boundaries are still being challenged by state Republicans. But if they hold, it could open the door for Utah Democrats to send a progressive to Congress for the first time.