Derek Kitchen, a former Salt Lake City council member and former state senator, is the latest Democrat to join the race for Utah’s new, left-leaning congressional district.
“We need a leader who has what it takes to fight back against Donald Trump and the MAGA Republican agenda,” Kitchen said in a statement Thursday morning announcing his bid, adding that he has “always fought for the issues that matter and taken on the big fights, even when it’s tough.”
“We have a real choice in this race,” he added. “We can send someone to Congress who plays it safe, or we can send someone who has spent his entire life fighting for justice, equality, and a better future for Utah families.”
In 2013, Kitchen was the lead plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit, Kitchen v. Herbert, that overturned Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage. He was elected to the city council and later the state Senate, where he served until a primary loss to Sen. Jen Plumb in 2022.
During the President Joe Biden administration, Kitchen served as senior vice president at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
He is the third Democrat to enter the race for the new northern Salt Lake County congressional district, created by the court as a result of a long-running lawsuit over the Republican Legislature’s gerrymandering of the state’s U.S. House districts.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Newly elected Sen. Derek Kitchen, D-Salt Lake, shows his support for the demonstrators gathered in the Capitol rotunda on Monday, Jan, 28, 2019, on the first day of the Legislative session to rally in support of protecting Proposition 3, the Medicaid Expansion law recently passed by voters.
Kathleen Riebe, an educator and state senator, was the first to join, announcing her candidacy two days after the judge chose the new congressional maps.
Ben McAdams — a former congressman, former Salt Lake County mayor and former state senator — entered the race a week ago. According to his campaign, McAdams raised $500,000 within 24 hours of his announcement.
State Sen. Nate Blouin and 2024 U.S. Senate candidate Caroline Gleich have also said they are considering running for the seat. Other potential candidates are also rumored to be exploring a bid.
The new seat spans many of the bluest portions of the state and favors a Democratic candidate by as many as 17 percentage points — the first time in decades such an opportunity has arisen in red-state Utah.
“For the first time in a generation, Utah has a strong, solidly Democratic district – and the chance to elect a progressive leader who reflects the values of the people who live here," Kitchen said.