Former Rep. Ben McAdams raised the most money last year compared to other Democratic candidates running in Utah’s newly redrawn 1st Congressional District, according to campaign finance records filed with the Federal Election Commission last month.
McAdams raised $955,730 during his first month and a half on the campaign trail, giving him a hefty war chest of $764,711 cash on hand. That’s more than three times as much money as all the other candidates raised in the last quarter of 2025 combined, which spanned from Oct. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025.
“This campaign is powered by people who are tired of seeing their health care costs go up, housing get further out of reach, and politicians look the other way while our basic constitutional rights are threatened,” McAdams said in a statement. “Utahns know that I stood up to Donald Trump before, even voting to impeach him when I knew it could cost me my seat, because protecting our Constitution and our democracy comes first.”
State Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Salt Lake City, had the second-highest report from last quarter with a haul of $203,109 in the first month of his campaign, as the progressive Democrat launched his campaign on the first day of December. Blouin has $179,861 cash on hand.
Despite trailing in terms of fundraising, Blouin touted his campaign finance report as only taking donations from “the people I’m running to represent” rather than any corporate PACs or “D.C. insiders.”
“It’s time to get big money out of politics,” he said in a statement to the Deseret News. “We raised over $200,000 from thousands of individual donors who work hard to keep our community moving forward.”
The reports put McAdams and Blouin at the top of the pack so far, with the former running as a moderate Democrat with previous experience in Congress and the latter running to his left as a more progressive candidate.
Former state Sen. Derek Kitchen came in third with $32,326 raised after launching his campaign on Nov. 20. Kitchen has $30,636 cash on hand and has only spent $1,689 so far, according to filings.
State Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, was not far behind, raising $27,450 in the fourth quarter of 2025 and ending the year with just $9,057 cash on hand. Riebe was the first Democrat to jump into the race in mid-November.
“I am grateful for every single contribution that was made, allowing my campaign to continue building momentum to drive meaningful change. By not taking a single dime of corporate PAC money, I remain only accountable to the people,” Riebe told the Deseret News in a statement. “There is more work and months ahead before the convention and primary, and I am ready to continue this fight for working families and to lower costs for Utahns.”
Salt Lake City Councilwoman Eva Lopez Chavez raised $15,920 since launching Dec. 15 and Anthony Tomkins raised $119.52 but has no cash on hand. Other candidates who have filed for the race did not report any fundraising for the fourth quarter after filing late into December.
How much have Republican incumbents raised?
It’s not yet clear which Republican incumbent will run against the Democratic candidate should the map be upheld.
The fundraising comes as Utah voters wait on a final decision from the state Supreme Court on what congressional boundaries will be in place for the 2026 midterm elections. The latest map implemented by 3rd District Judge Diana Gibson would create a deep blue district in Salt Lake County in addition to three deep-red districts.
The Utah Republican Party later appealed that map and is awaiting a final decision before candidate filings are due in March.
Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, who represents the current 1st District is listed as an opposing candidate for the Democratic challengers, although it’s possible he will run in what is now the 2nd District as it covers much of the same ground that is in his current district. Moore, a member of House GOP leadership, raised $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of last year and has more than $2.2 million cash on hand.
Rep. Burgess Owens raised $704,914 in the last quarter of 2025 and has $162,437 cash on hand. His current 2nd District most closely overlaps the boundaries that make up the new 1st District.
Rep. Celeste Maloy raised $565,769 in the last three months of 2025 and has $359,097 cash on hand. Rep. Mike Kennedy, the newest member of the Utah delegation, raised $610,158 and has $292,141 cash on hand.