McAdams Wins Utah 1st District Race

Democrat Ben McAdams won the seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Blake Moore, whose district was redrawn in Democrats' favor.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections

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Decision Desk HQ projected former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams as the winner of Utah's 1st Congressional District, defeating Republican nominee Riley Owen. The race was to replace Republican Rep. Blake Moore, whose seat was redrawn in Democrats' favor.

Why it matters

The projection returns McAdams to Congress after he lost his prior seat in 2020, and it reflects the redrawn district boundaries that changed the competitive landscape for the seat. The outcome shapes Utah's congressional delegation composition.

McAdams previously represented Utah's 4th District from 2019 to 2021 as the sole Democrat in the state's congressional delegation before losing the seat to Rep. Burgess Owens in 2020. The extraction does not include vote totals, margin, or certified results for the 2026 race.

The players

Ben McAdams

Former Democratic congressman who previously represented Utah's 4th District and worked as a lawyer in Salt Lake City and senior adviser to former Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.

Decision Desk HQ

A political data and election-results organization that projected the race outcome.

Blake Moore

Republican U.S. representative whose seat was redrawn in Democrats' favor and who ran in Utah's 2nd District.

The details

McAdams defeated Republican nominee Riley Owen in the race to succeed Blake Moore, whose district was redrawn in Democrats' favor. McAdams campaigned on reducing everyday costs, protecting public lands, defending human rights, and increasing accountability of immigration enforcement operations.

2019 to 2021: McAdams represents Utah's 4th District as the only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation.
2020: McAdams loses his seat to Rep. Burgess Owens.
Nov. 4, 2026: Decision Desk HQ projects McAdams as the winner, at 10 p.m. EST.

Season Trajectory

McAdams' 2026 projected win returns a Democrat to Utah's congressional delegation after his 2020 loss, which had left him as the state's only Democrat from 2019 to 2021. The outcome follows the redistricting that reshaped Utah's districts and changed the partisan balance of the seat Blake Moore vacated.

Utah voters in the 1st District now have a projected representative who previously held the seat's neighboring district. The redrawn boundaries affect which candidates appear on ballots and which communities are represented in the state's delegation.

The takeaway

The projection signals that Utah's redrawn districts can change partisan representation even in seats long held by one party, making district boundaries a key factor for voters to track in future cycles.