Written by Eva Terry for Deseret News

After a Utah court approved a new congressional map for the state including three Republican-heavy districts and one including most of the state’s Democrats, the state’s four incumbent members of Congress conferred about their options.

With one — Rep. Burgess Owens — choosing to retire instead of run again, the other three chose one of the safe districts to run in. That left the Republican primary in the new 1st District, covering the northern two-thirds of Salt Lake County, wide open.

In 2024, presidential candidate Kamala Harris beat Trump by 23 points in what is now Congressional District 1 (CD1), and since 2018, 56% of its residents have supported Democratic candidates.

Rachelle Morris, a former Republican Salt Lake County Council candidate, told the Deseret News how she sees the race taking shape.

“The only chance that a Republican has at winning this race is by being able to demonstrate that they are smarter, more competent, more collaborative and able to persuade swing voters to vote for a Republican” over their Democratic opponent, she said.

As of Thursday night, three Republicans have announced a bid for the seat: Riley Owen, Dave Robinson and Jonathan Lopez. Meanwhile, eight Democrats, including former Rep. Ben McAdams and current state Senator Nate Blouin, are gathering signatures for a run. Potential candidates have until Friday to register.

Utah’s 1st District race has national significance, Morris said. Given how tight the power balance is in the U.S. House of Representatives, one extra seat could “potentially make Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker of the House.”

 

Who are the Republican 1st District candidates?

After launching his 1st District campaign in mid-February, Riley Owen, 27, spoke to the University of Utah’s College Republicans club last Wednesday.

His message was straightforward: if elected, he would advance affordability, support families and curb career politicians.

“I think what Utahns are known for and what Utahns do best is finding common-sense solutions, advocating for what’s right and coming together as communities to build something,” he said. “I think there is an appetite for common-sense solutions, and I do think there’s a chance for a conservative to win in this race.”

After Owen kicked off his campaign with events at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, Morris said she believes the 27-year-old will bring “some youthful energy to this primary.”

He told students at the University of Utah, “I want young people to realize that we do have a voice, that it matters, that there are more of us than the media or our friends or college campuses make it out to be, and that we can speak up and get involved.”

Owen said he believes the conservative movement is often misunderstood. He referenced Edmund Burke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in France,” and said, “Conservatives actually stand for change.”

“People say conservatives just want tradition, and they don’t want to change anything, but Burke says, ‘No, no, no. The difference between a conservative and a progressive is that a progressive wants revolution. A progressive wants chaos, a progressive wants change now,’” Owen said. “A conservative wants gradual, incremental gains that are ordered and controlled and stable, so we can help the greatest number of people. That’s why I’m a conservative.”

A descendant of six generations of Utahns, Owen grew up in Southern California, then attended Princeton for his undergraduate degree. After serving a mission in Denmark for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Owen served as a White House policy analyst. He then completed a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Oxford, and currently he works as CEO of Doers Network while serving as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve.

So far, Owen has received endorsements from Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, and President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Robert O’Brien.

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Read more at Deseret News. Eva Terry is a staff writer with the Politics and the West team, covering energy and the environment.