Ben McAdams

Ben McAdams

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Utah State Senate District 2

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U.S. House Utah District 4

Successor: Burgess Owens

Predecessor: Mia Love

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Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of Utah

Law

Columbia Law School

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

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Campaign YouTube

Ben McAdams (Democratic Party) was a member of the U.S. House, representing Utah's 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2019. He left office on January 3, 2021.

McAdams (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Utah's 4th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

McAdams is a former Democratic Salt Lake County Mayor and former member of the Utah State Senate. He represented the 2nd Senate District from 2010 to 2012, after winning a special election to replace Scott McCoy. McAdams announced he would resign from the state Senate in January 2013 after winning election as mayor. He was re-elected to a second term as mayor in November 2016.

Key votes

See also: Key votes

Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.

Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2021

The 116th United States Congress began on January 9, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021. At the start of the session, Democrats held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (235-200), and Republicans held the majority in the U.S. Senate (53-47). Donald Trump (R) was the president and Mike Pence (R) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2021
Vote	Bill and description	Status
Yea	Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020   The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020 (H.R. 1044) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives seeking to increase the cap on employment-based visas, establish certain rules governing such visas, and impose some additional requirements on employers hiring holders of such visas. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended.	Passed (365-65)
Nay	The Heroes Act   The HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to address the COVID-19 outbreak by providing $1,200 payments to individuals, extending and expanding the moratorium on some evictions and foreclosures, outlining requirements and establishing finding for contact tracing and COVID-19 testing, providing emergency supplemental appropriations to federal agencies for fiscal year 2020, and eliminating cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatments. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (208-199)
Yea	For the People Act of 2019   The For the People Act of 2019 (H.R.1) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to protect election security, revise rules on campaign funding, introduce new provisions related to ethics, establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions, and establish new rules on the release of tax returns for presidential and vice presidential candidates. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (234-193)
Yea	CARES Act   The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on March 27, 2020, that expanded benefits through the joint federal-state unemployment insurance program during the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation also included $1,200 payments to certain individuals, funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and funds for businesses, hospitals, and state and local governments. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.	Passed (419-6)
Yea	Equality Act   The Equality Act (H.R. 5) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to ban discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity by expanding the definition of establishments that fall under public accomodation and prohibiting the denial of access to a shared facility that is in agreement with an indiviual's gender indenitity. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (236-173)
Yea	Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019   The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8) was a bill approved by the House that sought to ban firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (240-190)
Yea	American Dream and Promise Act of 2019   The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R.6) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to protect certain immigrants from removal proceedings and provide a path to permanent resident status by establishing streamlined procedures for permanant residency and canceling removal proceedings against certain qualifed individuals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (237-187)
Yea	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020   The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (S. 1790) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on December 20, 2019, setting policies and appropriations for the Department of Defense. Key features of this bill include appropriations for research/development, procurement, military construction, and operation/maintenence, as well as policies for paid family leave, North Korea nuclear sanctions, limiting the use of criminal history in federal hiring and contracting, military housing privatization, and paid family leave for federal personnel. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (377-48)
Yea	Families First Coronavirus Response Act   The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on March 18, 2020, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing access to unemployment benefits and food assistance, increasing funding for Medicaid, providing free testing for COVID-19, and requiring employers to provide paid sick time to employees who cannot work due to COVID-19. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.	Passed (363-40)
Yea	Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019   The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (H.R. 1994) was a bill passed by the House Representatives that sought to change the requirements for employer provided retirement plans, IRAs, and other tax-favored savings accounts by modfying the requirements for things such as loans, lifetime income options, required minimum distributions, the eligibility rules for certain long-term, part-time employees, and nondiscrimination rules. The bill also sought to treat taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation for the purpose of an IRA, repeal the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, increase penalties for failing to file tax returns, allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans if a child is born or adopted, and expand the purposes for which qualified tuition programs may be used. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (417-3)
Yea	Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act   The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to address the price of healthcare by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prices for certain drugs, requiring drug manufactures to issue rebates for certain drugs covered under Medicare, requiring drug price transparency from drug manufacturers, expanding Medicare coverage, and providing funds for certain public health programs. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (230-192)
Nay	Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020   The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on December 20, 2019, providing appropriations for federal agencies in fiscal year 2020. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (297-120)
Yea	Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019   The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (S. 1838) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on November 27, 2019, directing several federal departments to assess Hong Kong's unique treatment under U.S. law. Key features of the bill include directing the Department of State to report and certify annually to Congress as to whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment, and directing the Department of Commerce to report annually to Congress on China's efforts to use Hong Kong to evade U.S. export controls and sanctions. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.	Passed (417-1)
Yea	MORE Act of 2020   The MORE Act of 2020 (H.R. 3884) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to decriminalize marijuana by removing marijuana as a scheduled controlled substance and eliminating criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. This bill required a simple majority vote from the House.	Passed (228-164)
Yea	Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020   The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 6, 2020, providing emergency funding to federal agencies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Key features of the bill include funding for vaccine research, small business loans, humanitarian assistance to affected foreign countries, emergency preparedness, and grants for public health agencies and organizations. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill.	Passed (415-2)
Yea	Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019   The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.J.Res. 31) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on February 15, 2019, providing approrations for Fiscal Year 2019. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.	Passed (300 -128)
Yea	John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act   The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (S. 47) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Doanld Trump on March 12, 2019. This bill sought to set provisions for federal land management and conservation by doing things such as conducting land exchanges and conveyances, establishing programs to respond to wildfires, and extending and reauthorizing wildlife conservation programs. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.	Passed (363-62)
Yea	William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (On passage)   The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and vetoed by President Donald Trump on December 23, 2020. Congress voted to override Trump's veto, and the bill became law on January 1, 2021. The bill set Department of Defense policies and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021. Trump vetoed the bill due to disagreement with provisions related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the renaming of certain military installations, limits on emergency military construction fund usage, and limits on troop withdrawals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House on passage, and a two-thirds majority vote in the House to override Trump's veto.	Passed (335-78)
Yea	William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Overcoming veto)   The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and vetoed by President Donald Trump on December 23, 2020. Congress voted to override Trump's veto, and the bill became law on January 1, 2021. The bill set Department of Defense policies and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021. Trump vetoed the bill due to disagreement with provisions related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the renaming of certain military installations, limits on emergency military construction fund usage, and limits on troop withdrawals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House on passage, and a two-thirds majority vote in the House to override Trump's veto.	Passed (322-87)
Yea	Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019   The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (S.24) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 16, 2019, that requires federal employees who were furloughed or compelled to work during a lapse in government funding to be compensated for that time. The bill also required those employees to be compensated as soon as the lapse in funding ends, irregardless of official pay date. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill.	Passed (411-7)
Yea	Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. (Article 1)   The 2020 impeachment of Donald Trump (R) was a resolution before the 116th Congress to set forth two articles of impeachment saying that Trump abused his power and obstructed congress. The first article was related to allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid, and the second was related to Trump's response to the impeachment inquiry. The House of Representatives approved both articles of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of either charge. The articles of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House.	Guilty (230-197)
Yea	Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. (Article 2)   The 2020 impeachment of Donald Trump (R) was a resolution before the 116th Congress to set forth two articles of impeachment saying that Trump abused his power and obstructed congress. The first article was related to allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid, and the second was related to Trump's response to the impeachment inquiry. The House of Representatives approved both articles of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of either charge. The articles of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House.	Guilty (229-198)

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, McAdams was appointed to the following committees:

• Administrative Rules Review Committee, Utah State Legislature
• Ethics Committee, Utah State Senate
• Executive Appropriations
• Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, Utah State Senate
• Legislative Management Committee, Utah State Legislature
• Redistricting Committee, Utah State Legislature
• Revenue and Taxation Committee, Utah State Senate
• Subcommittee on Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, McAdams served on the following committees:

• Appropriations - Executive Offices and Criminal Justice
• Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, Utah Senate
• Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Utah Senate

Elections

2020

See also: Utah's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Utah's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Utah District 4

Burgess Owens defeated incumbent Ben McAdams, John Molnar, Jonia Broderick (Unofficially withdrew), and Jonathan Peterson in the general election for U.S. House Utah District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Burgess Owens (R)	47.7	179,688
		Ben McAdams (D)	46.7	175,923
		John Molnar (L)	3.5	13,053
		Jonia Broderick (United Utah Party) (Unofficially withdrew)	2.1	8,037
		Jonathan Peterson (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	29

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,730
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jonathan Lopez (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Utah District 4

Burgess Owens defeated Kim Coleman, Jay Mcfarland, and Trent Christensen in the Republican primary for U.S. House Utah District 4 on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Burgess Owens	43.5	49,456
		Kim Coleman	24.3	27,575
		Jay Mcfarland	21.5	24,456
		Trent Christensen	10.7	12,165

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 113,652
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Daniel Hemmert (R)
• Salvador Giove (R)

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for U.S. House Utah District 4

Incumbent Ben McAdams defeated Daniel Beckstrand in the Democratic convention for U.S. House Utah District 4 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Ben McAdams (D)
	Submit photo	Daniel Beckstrand (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican convention

Republican convention for U.S. House Utah District 4

Kim Coleman and Burgess Owens defeated Kathleen Anderson, Chris Biesinger, and Cindy Thompson in the Republican convention for U.S. House Utah District 4 on April 25, 2020.

		Candidate
		Kathleen Anderson (R)
	Submit photo	Chris Biesinger (R)
✔		Kim Coleman (R)
✔		Burgess Owens (R)
	Submit photo	Cindy Thompson (R)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Utah's 4th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

Ben McAdams defeated incumbent Mia Love in the general election for U.S. House Utah District 4 on November 6, 2018.

General election

General election for U.S. House Utah District 4

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ben McAdams (D)	50.1	134,964
		Mia Love (R)	49.9	134,270
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	37

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 269,271
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Utah Democratic Party held a nominating convention on April 28, 2018. Ben McAdams was selected as the Democratic nominee for U.S. House Utah District 4.

Republican primary election

The Utah Republican Party held a nominating convention on April 21, 2018. Incumbent Mia Love was selected as the Republican nominee for U.S. House Utah District 4.

2012

McAdams won election to the position of Mayor of Salt Lake County in 2012.

2010

See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2010

Utah State Senate, District 2, General Election 2010
Candidates		Votes
Ben McAdams (D)		13,663
Melvin Nimer (R)		4,863

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ben McAdams did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

McAdam’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Economy & Jobs Ben knows that small businesses are the engine that drive economic growth and create jobs. He supports low taxes and cutting red tape. When the economy was forced to close in response to COVID-19, Ben supported vital small business loan programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program to give Utah employers money to continue paying their employees’ salaries, as well as rent, utilities and other business needs. Ben also fought against government bureaucracy that kept the public in the dark about who was getting the loans, and whether it was at the expense of small businesses that truly needed and deserved them. Ben supported COVID-19 measures that assisted gig economy workers, like Uber and Lyft drivers, and others considered “independent contractors”. While traditional employees normally have access to unemployment benefits when they lose their jobs, that’s not typically an option for gig workers. The CARES Act provided eligibility for those workers to help them through the economic shut-down. Trade is a driver of business expansion and good-paying jobs in Utah. Ben stood up to leaders in his own party and pushed for a vote to approve the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA). Congress passed and the President signed the “new NAFTA”, as it’s known, giving Utah farmers and ranchers, medical equipment manufacturers, eCommerce companies and their thousands of employees a major win. The agreement included important enforcement provisions on labor and environmental standards so that U.S. companies aren’t undercut by weaker standards in other countries. The economic relationship between Utah, Mexico and Canada supports more than 120,000 Utah jobs. Having the deal in place before the coronavirus crisis hit provided the certainty Utah businesses needed to serve their customers and retain their employees. Ben voted with Republicans and Democrats to renew the U.S. export credit agency which both business and labor agree has been critical to economic development and job creation. The U.S. Export Finance Agency directly supports thousands of American jobs at no cost to the taxpayer. Its role is to provide short-term credit when the private sector is unwilling or unable to finance businesses’ efforts to expand into global markets and offers credit-backing and insurance to help Utah businesses bid on overseas projects and reach customers. Ben supported a number of bills to assist women-owned small businesses and start-ups. The measures strengthen and improve programs and tools offered by the Small Business Administration that make an important difference to these key job-creators in the community. Education As the son of a school teacher, Ben knows that education is the most important investment we can make in our children, including making available federal student loans and grants for college. As someone who received federal aid to go to college, he wants today’s students to be able to invest in their education, while not ending up with crushing debt. He supports bipartisan legislation that requires more openness and disclosure for students who take out loans, including simplified and monthly disclosures to student borrowers. The CARES Act included specific relief for most federal student loan borrowers. It automatically reduced interest to zero and suspended monthly loan payments through Sept. 30, 2020. This helped thousands of Utah student loan borrowers who were struggling to pay bills when the economy shut down and many were laid off or saw their hours cut back. Ben has also advanced bipartisan legislation to enhance STEM education in rural schools, which face unique barriers to providing STEM education, including a shortage of science and math teachers and difficulty accessing online and computer-based technology. COVID-19 Heath & Economic Crisis Ben knows that the unprecedented threat to Utahns’ health and safety and our economy from this new, highly-infectious virus must be met with timely, targeted and transparent actions. Ben has supported bipartisan measures––signed by the President––to help individuals, hospitals, foodbanks, schools and small businesses. Aid included individual and family economic relief payments and low-interest loans to help small businesses keep paying salaries to their employees during the shutdown. He supported paid sick and family leave for those who become ill with coronavirus or were caring for someone who was sick, and emergency unemployment insurance stabilization and access. Ben has pushed for more accountability and openness for taxpayers to see where their tax dollars are spent and to make sure those small businesses who truly need and deserve the loans were able to get them, not giant corporations. Ben fought to make sure federal agencies released the list of loan recipients and to minimize red-tape for small business owners. At a time when thousands of Utahns are sick, hundreds have died, and tens of thousands are out of a job, Ben fought to protect access to health care coverage, especially for those with preexisting conditions. He also helped pass legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs and pushed for a measure to cap the out-of-pocket drug costs for older Americans. Health Care Access to quality, affordable health care and prescription drugs has never been more critical for Utahns. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ben was fighting to protect Utahns’ access to health care and lower prescription drugs costs. Now more than ever families need peace of mind that a preexisting condition or getting laid off from a job won’t cost them their insurance coverage or prevent them from getting treatment. Ben voted for bipartisan legislation expanding tax credits for working families to purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchange and for states to adopt a reinsurance program, which has proven to reduce premiums overall. Ben also supported negotiating the price of drug manufacturers for certain selected drugs, such as insulin and he helped pass a bipartisan bill–the CREATES ACT –to bring more lower-cost generic drugs into the marketplace. Ben supported more funding for Utah health care providers’ use of tele-health, to allow access to a doctor without having to leave home or travel long distances to a health care provider. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Utahns ages 15-24. Ben has advanced a bill– the Advancing Research to Prevent Suicide Act– to bolster national research that will result in more tools for mental health professionals to save the lives of those struggling with a mental health crisis. According to the experts, 90 percent of those who die by suicide have an underlying–and potentially treatable–mental health condition. Ben also helped get more funding for the soon-to-be-launched 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Line. Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. and nearly 90 percent of smokers first try a tobacco product by age 18. Ben worked with both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to raise the national age to purchase tobacco to 21, to help save lives and money. Smoking causes hundreds of thousands of cases of disease and results in 1,300 deaths every day. Tobacco use costs the U.S. about $170 billion in health care spending each year, including $542 million in Utah. Ben is a member of the bipartisan Freshmen Working Group on Addiction, an effort to promote policies to end the addiction crisis in this country. As Salt Lake County Mayor, Ben saw first- hand how the addiction epidemic causes personal tragedy, burdens the jails and courts, and strains county and state budgets. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018 data shows that every day, 128 people in the United States died after overdosing on opioids. Ben championed Medicaid Expansion in Utah to provide health care coverage for treatment and recovery for those seeking help for drug and alcohol addiction. Ben also passed an amendment blocking the Export Finance Agency from supporting any transactions to people involved with illegal trafficking of synthetic opioids, highlighting concerns about China’s fentanyl violations. Nuclear Weapons Testing & Compensation for 'Downwinders' When Ben learned about recent high-level meetings within the administration on resuming explosive nuclear weapons testing, it rang alarm bells. Thousands of Utahns are still dealing with illness and death from exposure to radioactive fallout from bombs exploded in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The stories we hear from ‘Downwinders’–from people still grieving for family members lost, often as children, to cancer– motivates Ben to hold the government accountable and to stop any new explosive nuclear weapons testing. Ben passed amendments in annual defense bills to prohibit funding for conducting or preparing for any explosive nuclear weapons test. A move to restart testing is dangerous and unnecessary. Over the past two decades, the Defense and Energy secretaries in both Republican and Democratic administrations have annually certified that the U.S. stockpile is effective and secure. Ben also signed onto the PLANET Act which would prohibit any previous year’s funds from being used to restart explosive testing. He’ll keep fighting until the funding ban becomes law. We must never go down that path again. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 (RECA) provided money to some, but not all Utahns who are Downwinders, uranium miners, millers and ore transporters harmed by the federal government’s deceit. The RECA Trust Fund to pay those claims is set to expire in 2022. Ben has signed onto legislation to extend the life of the RECA Trust Fund to 2045 and to expand coverage to all Utah counties as well 11 other states. It also fixes a gap that treats some members of the Navajo nation who worked in the uranium industry unfairly. Police Reform & Racial Justice Ben supported the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that puts forward effective policing reforms that will move the country towards a more fair and just system for Black Americans. Ben took action in response to a number of incidents of horrific violence that have claimed the lives of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement, including the murder of George Floyd. Ben believes most police officers diligently do their jobs to protect communities and keep citizens safe. He does not support the idea of defunding police. Ben does support police reforms, including training and de-escalation measurers to reduce deadly interactions between Black Americans and some in law enforcement, including a ban on choke holds. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act also calls for more accountability, including requiring body cameras to be worn by law enforcement officers and openness on police disciplinary records. Fixing a Broken Congress Ben stood up to leaders of both parties to block an automatic Congressional pay raise. In 2019, he led the fight to successfully keep it out of an annual spending bill. This year, Ben sent a letter to the committee considering the salary increase and asked that it again be prohibited in proposed spending legislation. At a time when the nation is facing multi-trillion-dollar deficits, the last thing Congress should prioritize is a pay increase for Members of Congress. Budget & Taxes Ben wants the federal government to behave just as any Utah family does –balance its budget and live within its means. No Utah small business would still be in business, if its balance sheet was drowning in red ink like the federal government’s. Ben has called on both parties to do the necessary work of producing a budget and prioritize how to efficiently and effectively spend taxpayer dollars. The first bill Ben introduced in Congress was a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. He also supported structural rules adopted by the House known as ‘pay-as-yougo’ or PAYGO. This common sense rule helps enforce fiscal discipline by requiring new spending to be paid for, not simply adding to the deficit. As a co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition’s Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Government Reform, Ben has supported strong, independent government “watchdogs” to track spending and spot waste, fraud and abuse. He has urged Congress to do its job to produce an annual budget to guide spending priorities and put the country on a path to a balanced budget and he’s criticized his own party for not producing a budget. Ben has voted time and again against bloated spending bills and he launched a bipartisan “What Works” Caucus to rely on data and evidence to demonstrate which programs are effective and are delivering results. During the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, Ben knows emergency spending is necessary to support hard-working families during the crisis and keep the economy afloat. He was one of the first in Congress to demand that federal agencies disclose where billions in taxpayer dollars went, to ensure they were getting to those small businesses who needed and deserved the Paycheck Protection Program loans. During this pandemic, every federal dollar wasted is a dollar less to support our health care system, our workers and our businesses. Protecting taxpayer money should be the ultimate bipartisan cause and the American people are counting on Congress to get this right. Immigration Ben voted to permanently protect a group of Utah immigrants from deportation who are eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program—also known as Dreamers. These young people are our classmates, our coworkers, our neighbors and members of our congregations. Brought here as young children, this is the only home most of them have ever known. Allowing them to remain here legally and continue to contribute is an important step towards fixing our broken immigration system that keeps families together and helps our economy. Ben stood up to leadership and demanded they allow a vote on a bipartisan bill in 2019 to provide emergency aid to address unsafe and unsanitary conditions for thousands of children being held at the southern border in detention centers. It made funding available for medical care, additional food, and shelter in state-licensed facilities.	”
—Ben McAdam’s campaign website (2020)

2018

Campaign website

McAdams' campaign website stated the following:

“	Fixing a Broken Congress What Ben will do: Ben believes Utahns deserve better than a dysfunctional government. Currently, partisan bickering keeps Congress from finding solutions to issues that matter to Utah families. Ben plans to put people over politics in Washington. What Ben has done: Ben worked with both sides of the aisle in the Utah Legislature and as Salt Lake County mayor to balance the budget and act on important initiatives. He will continue to work with colleagues in both parties to overcome Washington’s broken politics and put Utah families first. He has proven bringing people together helps to solve tough problems like homelessness and criminal justice reform. Ben believes Congress shouldn’t get paid if it can’t do its job to pass a budget. Utah families and small businesses balance their checkbooks and manage their budgets every month. They expect Congress to do the same. Health Care What Ben will do: Ben wants to work with both parties to fix the Affordable Care Act, rather than just scrapping it. Ben supports allowing parents to keep their kids on their policies until they are 26. He will oppose allowing insurance companies to kick people off for pre-existing conditions or charge women higher premiums. Ben will work to ensure people aren’t punished for working harder and getting a raise, throwing them off their health care coverage. He will also work to lower out-of-pocket expenses and keep premiums down. Ben supports efforts to ensure Medicare can negotiate with the drug companies. This would lower prescription prices for seniors and costs to taxpayers. Ben plans to work with both parties to eliminate the Cadillac tax for working families. What Ben has done: All Utah families deserve access to quality, affordable health care. Ben supported the Healthy Utah plan, which would have responsibly expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act to thousands of Utahns without health insurance. After efforts stalled, Ben worked across the aisle to pass a permanent extension of Medicaid to include single adults who are homeless or in the criminal justice system and low-income families with children. Since its implementation in December 2017, hundreds of individuals who struggle with opioid addiction have been enrolled in drug addiction treatment. This treatment will help them regain stable, productive lives. In addition, the Medicaid extension added hundreds of new treatment beds to Utah’s nonprofit facilities. The treatment beds helped free up jail space for serious offenders while providing a more cost-effective, positive alternative to jail for nonviolent drug offenders. Ben called on Congress to restore funding to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, after its funding lapsed in September 2017. This proven, bipartisan program, championed by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, provides health insurance to the children of working parents. The program covers visits to the doctor, health screenings, vaccinations and vision and dental care. More than 19,000 Utah kids faced health care uncertainty until Congress finally acted to fund CHIP in January. Budget & Taxes What Ben will do: Ben believes hard-working Utah families and businesses deserve a fiscally responsible government that is held accountable for tax dollars. Ben supports tax reform that makes the tax system simpler, fairer and more predictable. This way, families and businesses can plan for the future. He criticized the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because it favored the wealthy over the middle class. In addition, it will add $1.5 trillion of federal debt over the next 10 years. Ben supports a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. It would require Congress stop running record deficits that burden future generations with debt they did not incur. What Ben has done: As mayor, Ben balanced the budget annually – with bipartisan support – while keeping taxes low. He funded important public safety services; managed critical public health response; expanded parks, trails and open space; and offered countywide access to arts and cultural activities. Ben spearheaded innovative approaches to homelessness and criminal justice reform. He partnered with the private and nonprofit sectors to pay for programs and measure the results. Education What Ben will do: Ben believes education is the best investment we can make in children. He thinks every child should have the opportunity to achieve his or her potential – regardless of zip code or economic circumstance. Ben will work to provide equal opportunity to students. Ben received federal student loans and Pell grants for college. He understands how important these programs are for families who are helping their children through college. He supports access to financial aid through the U.S. Department of Education and wants more transparency and lower overhead costs. What Ben has done: Ben led Salt Lake County in a first-in-the-nation partnership to enroll thousands of economically disadvantaged children in voluntary, high-quality preschool. By investing in early childhood development, county taxpayers got a substantial return on investment by avoiding future costs from student delinquency, pediatric health, drugs, gangs and incarceration. High-quality preschool closes the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and their financially stable peers. This leads to higher high school and college graduation rates. The county’s successful pilot program prompted the Utah Legislature to expand the initiative statewide. Energy & Environment What Ben will do: Utahns’ health and Utah’s economy are stronger with clean air, clean water and solutions to address climate change. Ben supports an all-of-the-above energy portfolio, which ensures affordable, reliable energy for Utah homes and businesses. This approach emphasizes increasing the supply of renewable energy, along with research and development of new technologies. What Ben has done: As Mayor, Ben supported constructing energy-efficient county buildings; building infrastructure to support natural gas and electric vehicles; initiating trip reduction plans for county employees to reduce vehicle emissions; planning and building a county-wide network of safe, convenient bicycle routes; and pushing transit “free fare” days along with other initiatives. He partnered with the private sector and the state on projects like solar installations on county-managed facilities and public transit-oriented developments. Ben worked with numerous stakeholders for two years to protect Utahns’ drinking water while balancing recreation, transportation and the environment. He met with businesses, government, private landowners, and environmental groups to produce the Mountain Accord – a consensus plan for the Central Wasatch mountains. Immigration What Ben will do: The federal immigration system is broken. Ben thinks it’s time for bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform. He wants secured borders, higher legal immigration, undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and more recognition of the important role immigrants play in the U.S. economy. Nearly 10,000 young adults in Utah have enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. These are youths who came here through no fault of their own and are studying, working, serving in the military and contributing to our community. Ben thinks it’s past time for Congress to resolve the uncertainty they face. The approach needs to strengthen and unite families and allow DACA recipients to continue building their futures.	”
—Friends of Ben McAdams

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Ben McAdams campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2020	U.S. House Utah District 4	Lost general	$5,638,024	$5,580,074
2018	U.S. House Utah District 4	Won general	$3,384,890	$3,306,518
Grand total			$9,022,914	$8,886,592
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Scorecards

The Sutherland Institute Scorecard

See also: Sutherland Institute Legislative Scorecard (2012)

The Sutherland Institute, "a conservative public policy think tank" in Utah, releases its Scorecard for Utah State Representatives and Senators once a year. The Score Card gives each legislator a score based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on specific issues which the Sutherland Institute thought were pro-conservative policies.

2012

Ben McAdams received a score of 33% in the 2012 score card.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Ben McAdams

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Michael Bloomberg  source	President of the United States (2020)	Primary	Withdrew in Convention

Noteworthy events

Tested positive for coronavirus on March 18, 2020

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

On March 18, 2020, McAdams announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus. On April 8, McAdams announced he was virus-free.

Coronavirus pandemic
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See also

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External links

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Mia Love	U.S. House of Representatives - Utah, District 4 2019-2021	Succeeded by Burgess Owens (R)
Preceded by Scott McCoy	Utah State Senate District 2 2010-November 13, 2012	Succeeded by NA

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Utah's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Curtis (R)

Mike Lee (R)

Representatives

District 1

Blake Moore (R)

District 2

Celeste Maloy (R)

District 3

Mike Kennedy (R)

District 4

Burgess Owens (R)

Republican Party (6)