A candidate for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District believes President Joe Biden is intentionally destroying America by allowing an invasion of illegal immigrants, that Jan. 6 defendants are being “politically persecuted” and that the United States should not be sending money to Ukraine.
Here’s what’s unusual: The candidate who espouses those views is Democrat Brian Adams — and is the only person who has filed to seek the party’s nomination.
Now the Young Democrats of Utah are urging the party to reject Adams as the nominee at the State Nominating Convention on Saturday and instead not run anyone for the seat that is currently held by Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy.
“I think that it just comes down to the fact that we should have higher standards for the people we’re saying should run for these offices,” Emma Fetzer, president of the Young Democrats of Utah said in an interview. “A nominee to run for office, to me, has certain expectations behind it and you should believe in the values of the party that you’re running to represent, especially in a congressional seat where you have such a big platform and are reaching a lot of people.”
Fetzer said she has talked to other Democratic groups who share her concerns and are discussing the best course of action.
Adams knows his platform bothers some in the party, but doesn’t back away from his positions.
“My response would be: Do I have to think like them in order to represent people well? I thought diversity was our strength,” Adams said in an interview Friday. “And I’d also say, that’s not very inclusive of them.”
On his campaign Facebook page Adams leans into election security memes, trashes Biden and rails against the influx of migrants. And, he said, many of the Trump supporters who were present for the Jan. 6 riots should not be charged.
“Non-violent Jan. 6 protesters are being politically persecuted. If there was violence, I’m not for violence and the people who did commit violent acts on Jan. 6, I’m not defending that,” he said. But he adds that “those who were just on the grounds are being politically persecuted.”
Adams espouses Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s approach when it comes to Russia’s war with Ukraine — essentially that Russia tried to avoid war but U.S. defense contractors spurred it on for profit — and Adams includes a video of Kennedy explaining his views on his campaign Website.
“I personally think that Donald Trump is a losing situation for the country and I think Biden is a losing situation for the country,” Adams said. “I think our country is not in good shape.”
Adams owns a renewable energy company in Clearfield and, according to his campaign site, was an Army helicopter pilot.
Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis said it is possible for the delegates to not choose Adams as the nominee for the seat. If they choose to go that route, she said, “what will happen is we’ll have no CD2 candidate on the ballot. So it’s a tough one.”
As far as Fetzer is concerned, leaving the spot on the ballot empty is better than nominating Adams.
“I would say it’s better to not have a Democrat running in that seat than have someone who doesn’t represent our values,” she said.
Two years ago, Democrats made a strategic decision to not nominate a candidate for U.S. Senate and instead back independent Evan McMullin’s bid in hopes of upsetting incumbent Sen. Mike Lee. McMullin lost the race 53%-43%. It was the closest Senate race in Utah in more than four decades.
Follow @RobertGehrke