Democrat Ben McAdams will return to Congress six years after he lost his House reelection bid, cruising to a decisive win in a newly drawn Democratic-leaning district.

In unofficial returns Tuesday, McAdams had opened a wide lead, 72% to 25%, over Republican newcomer Riley Owen.

On a night that Democrats fared well across the country, McAdams will add to the tally of seats slipping from Republican hands and swinging control of the U.S. House back to Democrats, who have been in the minority for the past four years.

“Whoever you voted for, we felt the same thing this year,” McAdams told a room of cheering supporters, noting that rent, housing, gas prices, groceries and healthcare premiums were all “through the roof.”

[See latest election results across Utah.]

“Nobody explained why this was happening. You just got the bill, and somebody else got richer for it,” he said. “So starting on day one, every decision I make will come down to one question: Who will pay the price for this decision? And if the answer is you, I’m going to fight it.”

Owen concedes

Owen, a 28-year-old Navy Reserve intelligence officer who runs a wildlife conservation foundation, got into the race hoping to be a voice for Generation Z voters.

On Tuesday night, he told supporters he had called McAdams to congratulate him, but the GOP candidate said he remained proud of his campaign, which “focused on issues, affordability, accountability, innovation.”

“That presents a road map for the future of the conservative movement,” Owen said, “and based on a lot of the election results we’re already seeing across the country, I think we are going to need a new vision for that movement.”

After losing reelection in 2020, the 51-year-old McAdams said during the campaign that he considered his career in politics — which includes serving as a state senator and Salt Lake County mayor — might be over.

Two factors pulled him back.

Why McAdams ran

First, a court ruled in 2025 that Utah’s congressional boundaries had been illegally gerrymandered to help keep Republicans in power.

Third District Judge Dianna Gibson ordered state lawmakers to draw fair boundaries and, after ruling they failed to do so, chose a map submitted by the plaintiffs in the case that created the new 1st Congressional District, spanning most of Salt Lake County and favoring Democrats by as many as 17 percentage points.

Second, McAdams said, was the affordability burden on families.

Addressing his supporters Tuesday night, McAdams acknowledged the importance of the new district.

“In the district you fought to create,” he said, “the people of Salt Lake County picked their own representative.”

McAdams squeaked out a win in 2018, defeating Republican Rep. Mia Love, but lost two years later to Republican Rep. Burgess Owens by 1 percentage point.

Owens opted to retire rather than seek a fourth term.

The primary fight

Already facing an uphill battle in the Democratic-leaning district, the lesser-known Owen was outspent 17-to-1, with McAdams raising more than $2.8 million over the course of the primary and general election to Owen’s $164,000.

Indeed, the June primary proved to be McAdams’ toughest test in 2026. The front-runner was attacked by his challengers — state Sen. Nate Blouin, Democratic convention victor Liban Mohamed and attorney Michael Farrell — for not being progressive enough to represent the newly created left-leaning district.

In that contest, McAdams pointed to his vote to impeach President Donald Trump, even though he knew it would likely cost him his reelection, as proof he was willing to cast hard votes.

The more liberal contenders split the progressive bloc, and McAdams won the race with 52% of the vote.