Utah 1st Congressional District candidate Nate Blouin is facing heat over decade-old online posts in which he joked about incest, sexual assault, called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a “front for the largest U.S. drug cartel,” and labeled its members “a bunch of bigoted assholes.” Punchbowl News first reported the posts Wednesday.
Blouin apologized for the posts on social media Wednesday morning.
“There’s no excuse for these posts—they're vulgar, stupid, and reflect a version of me in my early twenties that I’m ashamed of and thankfully evolved past,” Blouin said. “All I can say is I’ve spent the past decade of my life trying to become someone worth trusting—as a neighbor, as an advocate, and now as a public servant.”
The posts appeared more than a decade ago on Reddit and on forums focused on outdoor sports, track and skiing.
On a thread about a male BYU athlete being charged with sexual battery for groping women on campus, Blouin replied, “good ol’ mormon kid. had to let out the pent-up sexual frustration somehow.”
In the same discussion, after a commenter said a college teammate would “slap girls’ butts” as they ran by, Blouin wrote that “slapping girl’s asses as you run by is inappropriate, it shouldn’t land you in jail or anything by any means. people are too damn sensitive.” He also joked about polygamy.
Several posts mocked or made light of Mormons, including one where he claimed to have defecated “in an LDS Church parking lot.”
A number of the posts from Blouin mocked or made light of the LDS Church, including one where he claimed to have defecated “in an LDS Church parking lot.”
He also used slurs, including the word “retarded.”
Polling shows Blouin running second to frontrunner Ben McAdams in the six-person Democratic primary. Both have qualified for the primary ballot by gathering signatures.
Park City-based political consultant Reed Galen said the posts are immensely damaging to Blouin’s campaign.
“I think ‘yikes’ is the right word,” Galen said.
“This is the part that makes no sense to me. Did he really believe that none of this would ever show up again? Then he decides to run for Congress in the only blue district in Utah, where Mormons, especially Mormon women, will make up a large portion of primary voters? With the exception of women who have left the LDS Church, that cohort is essentially gone to him.”
According to voter data from L2, about half of voters in the new district are women, and about 30% are members of the LDS Church.
“If he hated the Mormons so much, why does he live in Utah? If you’re that displeased with the church, why do you want to represent the state in Congress? None of this makes any sense.”
Compounding the damage, recent headlines about sexual misconduct by prominent Democrats have primed Democratic voters to be unforgiving about language that makes light of assault, Galen said.
“The news about Eric Swalwell is still very much top of mind among Democrats. Making light of sexual abuse or spousal abuse makes him untenable with those voters,” Galen added.
Swalwell dropped his campaign for California governor and resigned from Congress after multiple women accused him of sexual assault.
Several of Blouin’s Democratic opponents piled on.
Michael Farrell said the newly surfaced posts "grossed him out" and he believes Blouin should drop out of the race.
"This reflects who Nate is, despite any political bullshit he's putting out now," Farrell said. "It's all well and fine to apologize, but I don't think we need to send someone to Congress who jokes about child pornography. Where's the joke?"
Farrell added he believes Blouin's posts are so politically toxic, it could cost him the election in November if he wins the Democratic nomination.
Salt Lake City Councilmember Eva Lopez Chavez, the lone remaining woman in the race, said Blouin’s crude jokes about women and sexual assault are especially galling given that he first won election to the Utah Senate in 2022 by defeating incumbent Democrat Gene Davis, who was facing allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a female intern.
“If we’re trying to drain the swamp and remove the same kind of vile predators from office, we shouldn’t send someone to Washington who uses this language,” she said. “He has claimed a higher moral authority during this campaign, and this is inconsistent with that record.”
Liban Mohammed criticized Blouin's explanation that the posts were the product of youthful indescretion.
"Let this be clear, these statements were made at the same age that I am today," Mohammed said.
He added that the posts are just part of a larger pattern of "disturbing and unacceptable" behavior from Blouin.
"Progressives are better than this. We lead with dignity, not the kind of character Nate has shown. Had this been someone outside of Nate's privileged position, there would be immediate calls to step down from this race. The same standard must always apply."
Luis Villarreal, another Democrat in the race, said he’s not buying Blouin’s evolution narrative.
“I think it’s a bit odd to say that youth was the reason for the callousness. Have I said dumb things in my youth? Sure, but I was in my teens, not my 20s,” he said.
He added, “He’s long been known as a bomb thrower and constantly getting into feuds over Twitter, so I wonder how much he’s really matured.”
A spokesperson for Ben McAdams declined to comment.
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