Utah—Yes, Utah—Sends a Democrat to Congress

Ben McAdams, a Democrat and former congressman, won Utah’s House race with more than 70 per cent of the vote, defeating Republican Riley Owen. His victory is the state’s first Democratic House win in eight years and highlights how fairer electoral maps can make competition possible in a state long shaped by Republican gerrymandering.

Voters narrowly approved an independent redistricting commission in 2018, but Republican officials fought the initiative through legislation and court challenges. The article says McAdams’s win may be temporary, as Republicans could seek to undo the maps in courts they have sought to reshape; he previously lost his seat in 2020 to Republican Burgess Owens.