Candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District, Democrat Ben McAdams and Republican Riley Owen, participated in a debate at Salt Lake Community College on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. The event, organized by the Utah Debate Commission, featured McAdams and Owen, with Libertarian Jesse West and unaffiliated candidate Elias Montgomery also running for the seat. However, West and Montgomery did not meet the commission’s minimum 10% support threshold to participate in the debate.
McAdams, who won a crowded Democratic primary, and Owen, a Republican naval officer and former White House staffer, discussed gerrymandering during the debate. McAdams stated, “I think there are numerous things that are the root of the corruption of Congress and the frustration with its inability to actually rise to the challenges and to solve problems, and we have incredible challenges today that we need them to rise to.” He emphasized gerrymandering as a key issue, noting that politicians win or lose elections by catering to extremes.
Owen, however, did not thank Better Boundaries, the group that filed the anti-gerrymandering lawsuit leading to the state’s new congressional maps. He expressed frustration with the new maps, stating, “What frustrates me is that the maps that we landed with created three of the most red districts in America and one of the most blue, ostensibly, districts in America.” He argued that these maps create a breeding ground for extremism.
During the debate, moderated by Natalie Gochnour, the candidates discussed various policy issues. Owen often split from the Trump administration’s agenda, while McAdams, the last Utah Democrat to serve in Congress, has also diverged from his party in the past. However, McAdams expressed little faith in a Republican candidate doing the same.
Owen emphasized what he believed to be the biggest distinction between him and his opponent, stating, “I think he wants a bigger government, while I want more market-based incentives.” Regarding President Donald Trump’s agenda, Owen said, “There are some things he gets right. There are some things that he gets wrong.”
