Ben McAdams may be fueling up his orange bus for a 2,000-mile drive to Washington, D.C.
The two-term Salt Lake County mayor and former state senator is reportedly weighing a Democratic run in 2018 against two-term Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, for the state’s 4th Congressional District.
“A lot of voters are encouraging me to run,” McAdams told The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday. “It is something I’m seriously considering.
McAdams said it is a critical time in the nation’s history, and there’s a need for “people in Washington who can work across party lines.”
While McAdams lives in the 2nd District — currently represented by Republican Chris Stewart — the Constitution allows residents to run for any congressional seat in their respective states.
Asked about his District 2 residency in Salt Lake City’s Sugar House neighborhood, McAdams noted he represents roughly 85 percent of the 4th District’s voters as Salt Lake County’s mayor.
“These are my constituents,” he said. “I’d love to fight for the issues of the district.”
Rooting for a Love-versus-McAdams race is state Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, who described the Democratic county mayor as a “politician of the people.”
A challenge by someone such as McAdams, Dabakis said, could lure Love out of isolation in Washington and make for a “heck” of a campaign.
“Mia Love has spent her entire time in Congress locked off in a bunker somewhere,” Dabakis said. “She‘s never had a serious town hall meeting. She just seems like she’s insecure about facing her constituents.”
Dabakis said he is sometimes irritated by McAdams’ moderate approach, and he assumes Republican members of government are irritated for the same reason.
Utah’s all-GOP congressional delegation has shown a reluctance to work with Democratic colleagues, Dabakis said, and Utah and the nation require leaders who can exist in the political center.
“We need one voice of rationality in Washington,” Dabakis said. “We need one that is not going to follow [President] Donald J. Trump off whatever cliff he jumps off.”
Jake Parkinson, Salt Lake County GOP chairman, was critical of McAdams’ image as a moderate, saying the mayor is significantly to the left of the 4th District’s mostly Republican voters.
“When you look at his record, it‘s not the record of a conservative — it’s not the record of a moderate, even,” Parkinson said. “I don’t think he stands a chance. He’s done some very progressive things that Utah voters don’t like.”
Parkinson pointed to McAdams’ involvement in the Mountain Accord planning process for the Central Wasatch Range and the expansion of his mayoral office. He said McAdams would have a difficult time justifying his record to voters in the district, which also includes parts of Juab, Utah and Sanpete counties.
“His budgets are always asking for more money,” Parkinson said. “He‘s never cut back.”
Utah’s 4th Congressional District was created after the 2010 census, with Democrat Jim Matheson winning the seat in 2012 against Love. Matheson retired the following election cycle, leading to back-to-back wins by Love against Democrat Doug Owens in 2014 and 2016.
Results from the 2016 contest showed Love retaining the seat by a margin of more than 12 percentage points.
Love’s office declined to comment on McAdams’ possible bid, instead steering questions to Dave Hansen, who ran her campaigns in 2014 and 2016.
Hansen said that Love and McAdams are friendly toward each other. He declined to comment on the potential of McAdams challenging Love for her congressional seat.
“Let‘s wait and see if he actually does it before we get talking about it,” Hansen said. “I’m not going to comment on just speculation.”
A March poll by UtahPolicy.com found McAdams had a 57 percent approval rating among surveyed voters in Salt Lake County. Statewide, his approval rating was 40 percent.
A Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll during last year’s election showed Love with a 62 percent approval rating in the 4th District.
Hinckley Associate Director Morgan Lyon Cotti said she expects McAdams to be competitive — if he chooses to run. The party of U.S. presidents traditionally loses seats during their first midterm elections, she said, so there is an expectation that Democrats nationwide will look to reclaim lost seats in 2018.
“This is a seat that Democrats had a few years ago that they are wanting back,” Lyon Cotti said. “A popular, moderate Democrat like Ben McAdams is probably their best bet.”
McAdams’ wins in Salt Lake County races have been helped by voters who otherwise lean Republican, Lyon Cotti said. And 4th District voters have shown themselves to be less rigidly partisan than some areas, electing a Democrat in 2012 and keeping the 2014 and 2016 races close despite Love outspending Owens by a large margin, she said.
“He is that type of moderate Democrat that a lot of Republicans are willing to vote for,” she said. “Whether or not you‘re a Republican or a Democrat, you have to be appealing to the middle to win that district.”
But McAdams also would face a two-term incumbent in Love. Parkinson, the GOP county chairman, said Love’s experience in Congress and skill as a campaigner shouldn’t be overlooked.
“Mia is a lot stronger than people think she is,” Parkinson said.
McAdams was re-elected in 2016 to a four-year term, meaning he would not have to give up his seat as county mayor to mount a congressional campaign.
He said he doesn’t have a timetable for making a decision but is “talking to my family and others in the community.”
Managing Editor Matt Canham contributed to this story.
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