2019 congressional file portrait. Photo: Eric Connolly / U.S. House of Representatives. Photo: Eric Connolly / U.S. House of Representatives · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
2019 congressional file portrait. Photo: Eric Connolly / U.S. House of Representatives. Photo: Eric Connolly / U.S. House of Representatives · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Politically neutral. Every candidate on this ballot gets the same sections. The party shown is the one the ballot lists. A section is missing only where we haven't yet found an official source for it. How we stay neutral
Ben McAdams was a candidate for U.S. House, District 1 in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. The ballot listed Ben McAdams, Democratic. Counts are unofficial until the canvass; see the election night results and the official results. The district covers all or part of Salt Lake County.
The state certified Ben McAdams as a Democratic candidate for Utah's 1st Congressional District on the November 3 general-election ballot. The seat is a U.S. House seat with a two-year term.[1]
Background
The Tribune's questionnaire summary describes McAdams as a former U.S. representative, former state senator and former Salt Lake County mayor who has worked as a housing and policy consultant since leaving Congress.[2]
Ethics and government
McAdams says he backs a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and their families, and that he would confront abuses of power by either party. He also says he wants to stop officials from selling access to market-moving information.[2]
Affordability and housing
McAdams calls housing the biggest bill most families pay. He says he would remove barriers to housing, put underused public land to housing use, expand homeownership and target anti-competitive practices that raise grocery, gas and health care prices. He opposes tariffs and the war in Iran, which he says raise costs for Utah families.[2]
Water and the Great Salt Lake
McAdams criticizes tax breaks for developers and water-intensive data centers, and says public subsidies should be tied to accountability and conservation funding. He says he is working on legislation to bring private money toward protecting the Great Salt Lake.[2]
In the candidate's own words
The Tribune notes that Ben McAdams, a former U.S. House member who left office in 2021 and earlier served as a state senator and Salt Lake County mayor, has consulted on housing and other issues since leaving Congress.[3]
In the survey, McAdams says "Utahns are tired of a government that works for insiders while everyone else pays the bill," proposes housing reforms and the use of public land for housing, and supports a congressional stock-trading ban. McAdams opposes both Amendment A and Amendment B.[3]
The survey answers above are the candidate's own, as printed by the Tribune, and were not checked by The Utah Ledger.[3]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 30, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
Ben McAdams is a former Member of Congress, Salt Lake County Mayor, and Utah State Senator who works across differences — not because it’s always easy, but because that’s how hard things get done.
Ben's mother taught public school and raised six kids mostly alone. He remembers the power being shut off, their home in foreclosure, and having to choose between medical debt and groceries. That’s why Ben believes that hard work should pay off, and no family should be one illness or missed paycheck away from losing everything.
As Mayor, Ben expanded early childhood education and Medicaid for Utah families, and killed a proposed data center that would have cost taxpayers $200 million. In Congress, he fought to save the Great Salt Lake, defended Utah's public lands from being sold off, protected healthcare access, and passed consumer protection laws that took on corruption and self-dealing.
Since leaving Congress, Ben has helped local governments connect vulnerable families to benefits they qualify for, deliver services more efficiently, and make housing more affordable.
Ben has a record of results when results are hard to come by. He's running for Congress to bring that approach to Washington because Utah families can't afford more excuses.
The five other Democratic senators cited an independent workplace investigation released Nov. 2 that found a pattern of conduct likely motivated by race, national origin or ethnicity.
· From Utah Senate
AI illustration: The Utah Ledger · Original graphic · The Utah Ledger
A 2018 ballot initiative, a court fight that began in 2022 and a failed repeal drive produced the map Utah votes under on Nov. 3, including a Salt Lake County district that leans Democratic.
