Former Congressman Ben McAdams leads the Democratic field in Utah’s 1st Congressional District, according to new polling released Tuesday. The poll shows a familiar split: moderates line up behind McAdams, while progressives are rallying to support state Sen. Nate Blouin.
The survey, conducted March 23–26 by Democratic firm Data for Progress, sampled 381 likely Democratic primary voters and has a margin of error of ±5 percentage points. McAdams leads with 36%, followed by Blouin at 23%. State Sen. Kathleen Riebe and Salt Lake City Council member Eva Lopez Chavez are tied at 7% each, and 25% are undecided.
McAdams also tops the field in net favorability at +47, followed by Blouin at +35, Riebe at +22, Lopez Chavez at +19 and Liban Mohammed at +12.
McAdams also has the highest name recognition: just 19% say they haven’t heard enough about McAdams to form an opinion, compared with 46% for Blouin, 64% for Riebe, 66% for Lopez Chavez and 80% for Mohammed.
The ideological split in the polling is stark.
- “Very liberal” voters back Blouin over McAdams, 38% to 21%. Riebe is at 8% and Lopez Chavez is at 5%.
- Among “somewhat liberal” voters, McAdams leads with 33%, while Blouin has 17%, Lopez Chavez 11% and Riebe 10%.
- Moderates break hard for McAdams, 70% to 9% over Blouin.
That divide could be a deciding factor in the primary. Unlike the GOP’s closed contests, Utah Democratic primaries are open to any voter who hasn’t participated in another party’s primary—a likely edge for a well-known moderate like McAdams.
- Among “very liberal” voters, Blouin’s net favorability is +46 to McAdams’ +36.
- With “somewhat liberal” voters, McAdams is +53 to Blouin’s +34.
- Moderates give McAdams a +64 net favorability; Blouin is +17.
The Democratic state convention is set for April 25 at Jordan High School. McAdams has already qualified for the primary ballot via signatures. Blouin, Lopez Chavez, Riebe, Mohammed and Michael Farrell are still circulating petitions; the deadline to submit 7,000 valid signatures is April 10.
If you have a news tip that we should investigate, email us at tips@utahpolitics.news or send your tip through our secure online form.
