Amid his victory lap last year, the newly elected Utah Democratic Party chair Brian King told the Deseret News he would unify his party. That includes, he said, the “very progressive on the left end of the spectrum” and the “moderates and pragmatists and independents and unaffiliated voters and disillusioned Republicans.”
Since last year’s Democratic convention, Utah’s congressional map was redrawn by two nonprofits then selected by a judge after a long legal battle. Democrats now have an opportunity to elect one of their own to Utah’s congressional delegation — and three of the party’s candidates are heading into the weekend with enough verified signatures to qualify for the June primary ballot, regardless of what happens at the convention.
The two considered top candidates: A progressive and a pragmatist.
Nate Blouin, the state senator representing Salt Lake City, who has endorsements from the likes of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, remains the frontrunner alongside former Salt Lake County mayor and former U.S. congressman Ben McAdams, who is widely regarded as a more centrist Democrat.
King told the Deseret News on Tuesday that appealing to the whole Democratic spectrum matters. Utah’s 1st Congressional District is arguably the state’s most progressive, he said, but it doesn’t mean it’s the only audience these candidates need to be speaking to.
“Yes, it’s more blue,” he said. “But you’re not going to win this race if you just hew only to the lefties, and on the other hand, people who are in the middle, you’ve got to have things to say that appeal to people across the political spectrum, at least within the Democratic Party.”
On Wednesday, Blouin and McAdams were joined at a debate by fellow Democratic candidates Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell — the third candidate who has gathered enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. In celebration of Earth Day, they tackled issues like conservation, universal healthcare and the Iran War just days before the convention.
Salt Lake City Council member and fellow 1st District Democratic candidate Eva Lopez Chavez did not attend the debate. While the debate was taking place, The Salt Lake Tribune published a story alleging Lopez Chavez had made “unwanted sexual advances” on four women.
Her attorney Greg Skordas told the Deseret News “that much of what is being said is untrue and highly misleading. Eva is a true leader and a champion of women’s issues. She has a strong career protecting women from victimization.”
“This is a terrible thing to do to a person just days before her convention,” he continued. “It’s politics at its worst. She has no time or ability to set the record straight and I can only assume that’s why these untrue allegations are now being made.”
Skordas said she intends to proceed with her campaign at the convention on Saturday.
Attracting the ‘politically homeless’
Recent Utah voter polling depicts a state upset with President Donald Trump’s handling of the country, particularly over the war with Iran. While CD1 may be a darker shade of blue, it is also home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and many members of the church.
Given the district’s politically-diverse electorate, Eric Biggart, the executive director of Utah Votes and chair of the LDS Democrats caucus, told the Deseret News that success may hinge on the candidates’ ability to attract the “politically homeless,” a bloc he thinks is open to Democratic messaging.
Social media posts uncovered last week made by Blouin more than a decade ago labeled Latter-day Saints as “a bunch of bigoted (expletive)” and said the church was “DEFINITELY just a front for the largest US drug cartel.” The New Hampshire native also said church members were the worst part about living in Utah and that members were “quite oppressive and narrow-minded.”
Blouin’s past comments didn’t shock Biggart.
“They were emblematic of somebody who was just perpetually online. And none of that is surprising in today’s environment. The surprising thing to me is the number of people who moved past his comments about the church,” Biggart said, “and were like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’”
Blouin apologized publicly for his past remarks, but the lack of compassion from those who weren’t bothered by his comments is not a good look for the party, Biggart said.
“Let’s not do something else that’s going to give LDS voters a reason to turn away from the Democratic Party for another 10 years,” Biggart said. “Instead, we need to welcome people in and be gracious.”
Despite Blouin’s Democratic colleagues in the state Legislature as well as Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson denouncing his past comments and calling on him to step out of the race, Blouin has so far stayed in the race. In his apology, Blouin said, “every candidate forced to look at their old online activity should take full accountability for the person they once were behind their computer screen,” and that “I will keep showing up every day as the person I’ve worked to become. That is my promise to you.”
A better choice than the Republicans?
If the Democrats are able to flip the 1st District seat blue against their GOP competition — Riley Owens and Dave Robinson — King said his desire for unity will have been successful.
He said he’s hoping this weekend’s convention will be the catalyst for such unification.
“I want to make sure that we as Democrats have the ability to set up an infrastructure that is successful in winning races, getting more Democrats elected,” King said, adding that anti-Trump messaging isn’t enough.
“Utah voters and voters across the country are looking at the political situation saying, ‘Listen, we may have voted for Republicans in the past, but this is not the Republican Party that is carrying out the kind of priorities that we want for us in our lives,’” he said.
And it’s not just Trump Utahns are upset with, King said. Dems, he said, are upset with the GOP congressional leadership.
“If we as Democrats can’t put up candidates and take positions as Democrats and as a party that address those things, well, shame on us, because Donald Trump and today’s Republican Party have given us a huge opportunity to do that, because they are so clearly not doing that for people.”