Editor’s note: The Deseret News has invited congressional candidates for the closely contested party primaries to visit with its editorial board. This story is one in a series of candidate previews on issues.
Liban Mohamed is running an unapologetically progressive campaign in Utah’s 1st Congressional District race.
He told the Deseret News Editorial Board on Monday that his victory last April at Utah’s Democratic Party Convention was a “really beautiful moment” that will only expand if he wins and becomes the “true progressive leadership” he says Utahns want representing them in Congress.
Democrats believe they have a real opportunity to challenge the state’s GOP leadership and increase their federal influence after a judge struck down Utah’s congressional map and selected a new map with a heavily-Democratic district.
“This district is finally whole,” Mohamed said, “and it presents a new possibility. A possibility, not only to have leadership that reflects our values, but also for us to come together collectively and imagine a new future for Utah, of which we’ve never had.”
He says he’ll pursue the following policies if he’s elected to Congress:
- Universal healthcare
- Affordable housing
- Protecting the Great Salt Lake
- Abolish U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement and create a pathway to citizenship for migrants in the country illegally
He said it comes down to one phrase for him: “It’s about focusing on American diplomacy abroad and our own dignity right here at home.”
He continued, “I think a lot of people in this district, and even throughout our nation, feel like in this beautiful country, the richest nation in the history of humanity, we have been prioritizing corporate greed, the war machine, a billionaire class over the ordinary people, over us, and it’s time for a leadership that’s focused on our own personal everyday American prosperity.”
He shares this sentiment with his fellow Democratic candidates, state Sen. Nate Blouin, former Rep. Ben McAdams and Michael Farrell.
Despite Mohamed winning the Democratic nomination at the state convention, the three other candidates will appear with him on the June primary ballot after qualifying through signature gathering.
The candidate who wins the June primary will go up against Republican Riley Owen in the November general election.
On Monday, Blouin called on Mohamed and Farrell to drop out so that progressive votes will consolidate around him after his campaign released a recent poll showing he and McAdams are the top two contenders in the state race.
But Mohamed told the Deseret News he would not be backing out. In a public statement on X, he also said his win at the convention was a better “representative sample” compared to Blouin’s “narrow sample of just 400 people.”
Mohamed on Israel and foreign policy
Mohamed focused on the United States’ relationship with Israel during Monday’s editorial board meeting.
The conversation began with the issue of foreign policy. Mohamed said he believes the U.S. should put in place an embargo on selling offensive and defensive weapons to Israel.
When asked if the Jewish nation has a right to exist he responded, ”Nations either exist or they don’t exist. Rights belong to human beings."
On whether or not Iran should be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, he replied, “The greatest thing that the United States of America and our government can do for our national security, for global security, and global stability is investing in diplomacy rather than exploitation, rather than supporting and being dragged into endless wars by a nation state who claims to be an ally,” referring to Israel.
He didn’t want to respond directly to a question about whether it was OK if Iran acquires a nuclear weapon and eventually accused the question of being the real danger.
“This rhetoric and this question itself is what the threat to the United States is,” he said. Though he said he is against weapons of mass destruction, he added, “I believe that every country would want something like that. I also believe that the way to invest in your national security fundamentally is creating positive relationships, creating a dynamic where you’re not going out funding genocide, funding human rights violations, being dragged into wars.”
Mohamed said military conflicts drain resources that could otherwise be used to support everyday Americans and those seeking safety in the United States. He argued that American intervention overseas frequently worsens conditions in affected regions, fueling further unrest and migration.
Before the conversation shifted away from Israel, Mohamed explicitly told the board that his stance on Israel and Gaza is what separates him most from his fellow Democratic candidates. He believes it will be a “decision-making issue” for many voters.
He left no ambiguity on his position with Israel, calling their actions in Gaza a genocide, where we’ve seen “70% to 80% of all civilian infrastructure has been wiped out,” he said.
When asked if Hamas bears any of that responsibility, Mohamed said, “What happened on October 7 was a war crime,” but after making that acknowledgment, he consistently redirected the discussion back to Israel’s conduct in Gaza rather than Hamas’ actions.
He described Zionism as a “colonial political ideology” and linked it to the displacement of the Palestinians.
He praised Utah Jews for Palestine and argued that Jewish Americans should not feel responsible for defending the actions of the Israeli government. He said he is “deeply concerned” about rising antisemitism, but argued Zionism is partly to blame.
“The beautiful faith that has existed for thousands of years that is Judaism” should not be conflated with “the nation state that is Israel.”
