The Democratic field vying for Utah’s new Salt Lake County-based congressional district keeps getting more crowded, with state Sen. Nate Blouin the fourth contender to join the race.
“We can’t keep doing politics as usual,” Blouin said in a social media post on Sunday. “Utahns are struggling to pay for housing while Trump & Republicans in Congress play games with our healthcare & victimize our communities. It’s time for Democrats who will stand up & speak truth to power.”
The campaign in the Democratic-leaning district is shaping up to be a contest for who can establish the most liberal resumé.
So far, the field includes state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, former congressman and former Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, former Salt Lake City Council member and former state Sen. Derek Kitchen, and now Blouin.
Blouin is a first-term senator representing South Salt Lake and parts of Millcreek, Murray and West Valley City. Since Blouin is up for reelection to the state Senate next year, as well, he would have to give up his legislative seat to run for Congress.
In May, Blouin created Peak Demand LLC, a company that does communication consulting for climate-change nonprofits.
As a senator, Blouin has introduced a number of bills dealing with green energy, environmental issues, gun control and progressive economic policies. None have passed.
He recently finished second behind Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall as “Best Elected Official” in a vote by City Weekly readers. And the race may continue to get more crowded.
Carline Gleich, a 2024 candidate for U.S. Senate, has said she is considering running for the seat. Eva Lopez Chavez, Salt Lake City council member, told ABC4 in an interview that she would not “rule out” a bid. Other potential contenders are also rumored to be looking at joining the field.
The jockeying for the U.S. House of Representatives’ seat is the result of several decisions by 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson, who ruled this year that the congressional boundaries in place since 2021 did not comply with the citizen-passed Better Boundaries initiative and subsequently that new maps drawn by the Legislature also did not comply with the law.
Instead, she chose a map that creates a House district in the northern end of Salt Lake County, a largely liberal part of the state that favors a Democratic candidate by between 13 and 17 percentage points, according to an analysis by The Salt Lake Tribune.
It is the first time in decades that there has been a seat that is competitive or favors Democrats.
Republican legislative leaders have said they will appeal Gibson’s ruling, but have yet to do so, and House Speaker Mike Schultz said in a recent television interview that it may be too late for such an appeal to impact the 2026 election.
Note to readers, 3:10 p.m. • The story has been updated to further describe Nate Blouin’s Peak Demand LLC business.