Burgess Owens (R) defeated incumbent Ben McAdams (D) and John Molnar (L) in the general election for the 4th Congressional District of Utah on November 3, 2020.
In 2018, McAdams defeated incumbent Mia Love (R) 50.1% to 49.9%—a margin of 694 votes. His 2018 election made the 4th District one of 30 House Districts that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 and that a Democrat represented in 2020. During the presidential election, Trump received 39 percent of the vote to Hillary Clinton's (D) 32 percent in the 4th District.[1] Independent Evan McMullin received 22%.[2]
The outcome of this race affected partisan control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 117th Congress. All 435 seats in the House were up for election. At the time of the election, Democrats had a 232 to 198 majority over Republicans. The Libertarian Party had one seat. Four seats were vacant. Democrats defended 30 districts Donald Trump (R) won in 2016. Republicans defended five districts Hillary Clinton (D) won in 2016.
As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, Utah's 4th Congressional District was located in central Utah. It included portions of Juab, Salt Lake, Sanpete, and Utah counties.[3]
This race was one of 89 congressional races that were decided by 10 percent or less in 2020.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.
For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
Post-election analysis
The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
| Presidential and congressional election results, Utah's 4th Congressional District, 2020
|
| Race
|
Presidential
|
U.S. House
|
| Democratic candidate |
43.3 |
46.7
|
| Republican candidate |
52.4 |
47.7
|
| Difference
|
9.1
|
1
|
Election procedure changes in 2020
- See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Utah modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: The third-party collection and return of absentee ballots was restricted to individuals residing in the same household as the voter.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
General election
Democratic primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Democratic convention
Republican convention
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[4] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party:
Democratic Party
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
Biography: McAdams graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in political science and obtained his law degree from Columbia Law School. In addition to practicing law, McAdams served as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah School of Law and as senior advisor to the mayor of Salt Lake City.
Key Messages
The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.
McAdams' campaign ads featured Republicans saying they were voting for him. They said he worked with both parties and had the most independent voting record of Utah's congressional delegation.
McAdams said he prioritized accessible healthcare, affordable prescription drugs, and protecting children from online predators.
McAdams' campaign ads said Owens supported renewing nuclear weapons testing in Utah and that Owens wanted to disband the department of education, which the ads said would hurt students.
Show sources
Party:
Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Biography: Owens received a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Miami where he played football. He played professional football with the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders including as part of the Raiders' 1981 Super Bowl Championship team. Owens later founded Second Chance 4 Youth, a nonprofit supporting incarcerated juveniles.
Key Messages
The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.
Owens emphasized that he grew up in the segregated South, was the third black American granted a scholarship to play football at the University of Miami, and founded Second Chance 4 Youth.
Owens said he would work to stop human trafficking, keep funding for police, and implement market-based solutions for healthcare. He criticized healthcare plans that would eliminate private insurance.
An Owens campaign ad said McAdams was liberal and that he worked for Hillary Clinton, pushed for higher property and business taxes, and wanted to use tax dollars to cover gender reassignment surgery. Owens said he did not support above-ground nuclear testing and that McAdams was not telling the truth about him.
Show sources
Party:
United Utah Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am a regular American woman: a mother, a widow, and an entrepreneur.
I graduated from Columbia College with a degree in History. I have worked in small businesses, been an educator, and started my own business. Over the course of my life, I personally have known both poverty and prosperity. I have also volunteered extensively with individuals who face serious health challenges, endure mental or emotional illness, deal with prejudice in society and the law, are victims of abuse, struggle to meet daily expenses, or who fight the stranglehold of regulations as they try to keep a small business afloat.
I believe the two-party system has failed regular Americans. Special interest groups, not people, are at the heart of too much legislation. Personal and political party power, not the balance of power, governs the actions of political leaders. Extreme partisan politics, not rational solutions, dictate our course. We are not promoting the general welfare.
When I moved to Utah, I witnessed firsthand the way Utahns watch out for and care for one another. Community is what makes Utah uniquely great. However, too often Utah politicians fail their community by putting party politics ahead of their constituents' needs. As your Congresswoman, I will always keep people and the Constitution at the foundation of my legislative work."
Key Messages
To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.
Constitutional, principled, and compassionate conservatism
Real solutions require collaborative democracy across party lines and divorced from special interests
People should be at the center of every public policy
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
| Utah's 4th Congressional District, 2020: General election polls
|
| Poll
|
Date
|
McAdams
|
Owens
|
 Molnar
|
(United Utah) Broderick
|
Other
|
Margin of error
|
Sample size
|
Sponsor
|
| Lighthouse Research[5] |
Aug. 31 - Sept. 12 |
47% |
38% |
1.8% |
0.4% |
13.9%[6] |
±4.4 |
500 |
Utah Debate Commission
|
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name |
Party |
Receipts* |
Disbursements** |
Cash on hand |
Date |
| Ben McAdams |
Democratic Party |
$5,638,024 |
$5,580,074 |
$136,323 |
As of December 31, 2020 |
| Burgess Owens |
Republican Party |
$5,149,325 |
$5,068,996 |
$80,329 |
As of December 31, 2020 |
| John Molnar |
Libertarian Party |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Data not available*** |
| Jonia Broderick |
United Utah Party |
$21,394 |
$21,265 |
$1,002 |
As of October 23, 2020 |
| Jonathan Peterson |
Independent |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.
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District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+13, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Utah's 4th Congressional District the 97th most Republican nationally.[7]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.97. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.97 points toward that party.[8]
Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[9]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[10][11][12]
| Race ratings: Utah's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 |
|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings |
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 |
| The Cook Political Report | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up |
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Tilt Democratic | Tilt Democratic | Tilt Democratic | Tilt Democratic |
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic |
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. |
|---|
Noteworthy endorsements
- See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements
This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.
Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available.
Timeline
2020
Campaign advertisements
This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.
Ben McAdams
Supporting McAdams
| "McAdams Only One" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams Nothing We Cant" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams Work Together" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams More Important" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams Sanctity of Life" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "Mayor TV" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Congress" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Both Sides" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Shelters" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Family's health" - McAdams campaign ad, released Sept. 17, 2020
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| "Cheap" - McAdams campaign ad, released Sept. 4, 2020
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| "Protect" - McAdams campaign ad, released Aug. 24, 2020
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| "Come Together" - McAdams campaign ad, released Aug. 10, 2020
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Opposing Owens
| "McAdams Nukes" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams Charity" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams Zero" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "McAdams Money" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 30, 2020
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| "Weapons" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Education" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Education 2" - McAdams campaign ad, released Oct. 6, 2020
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| "Support Everything" - McAdams campaign ad, released Sept. 10, 2020
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| "Guinea Pigs" - McAdams campaign ad, released Sept. 1, 2020
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Burgess Owens
Supporting Owens
| "We cannot allow ourselves to fall for dirty campaign tactics - Jason and Mia Love" - Owens campaign ad, released Oct. 21, 2020
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| "HealthCare :30" - Owens campaign ad, released Oct. 2, 2020
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| "American Promise" - Owens campaign ad, released Sept. 18, 2020
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| "Angry Socialism" - Owens campaign ad, released Sept. 10, 2020
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| "Burgess Owens for Congress" - Owens campaign ad, released June 10, 2020
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| "Burgess Owens for Utah's 4th Congressional District" - Owens campaign ad, released June 4, 2020
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Opposing McAdams
| "Utah Values" - Owens campaign ad, released Oct. 21, 2020
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| "That's Liberal" - Owens campaign ad, released Oct. 8, 2020
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| "Distasteful Politics :30" - Owens campaign ad, released Oct. 2, 2020
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Satellite group ads
| Click "show" to the right to see satellite group ads. | |
|---|
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Opposing McAdams
| "Ben McAdams, Changed" - Congressional Leadership Fund ad, released Sept. 16, 2020
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Opposing Owens
| "Here" - House Majority PAC ad, released Oct. 13, 2020
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Campaign themes
- See also: Campaign themes
Ben McAdams
McAdam’s campaign website stated the following:
| “
|
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.[15]
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”
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| —Ben McAdam’s campaign website (2020)[16]
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Burgess Owens
Owens' campaign website stated the following:
| “
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- We, as citizens of the United States, have a right granted by God and protected by the Constitution to arm and protect ourselves. The right to bear arms is a fundamental truth outlined in the 2nd amendment and laws to regulate that right will result in nothing less than tyranny. This is one area in which the federal government has a role to play. That role is to protect the rights of American citizens to keep and bear arms. Concealed carry permits should be treated like driver’s licenses and marriage licenses and be recognized across the country.
- Red flag laws and gun control laws are slippery slopes to an inevitable takeover of gun ownership in this country. Red flag laws give people the opportunity to judge their neighbor – if they do not like you as a person, they can report you and have your guns taken away. That directly infringes on our second amendment rights. What’s the long game plan for red flag laws? They are the next step in the left’s attempt to totally ban guns.
- Totalitarian and Communistic governments take away the right for their citizens to protect themselves before the oppression. A people that cannot defend themselves can be easily controlled. History has proven this time and time again. Make no mistake about it, the left’s attempt to deprive us of our rights to protect ourselves has little to do with safety and everything to do with control. – and as a Congressman I will fight these efforts as long as I have breath in my lungs.
- Like so many leftist policies, their approach to gun safety is misguided. They often argue that violent gun crimes will disappear when guns are banned. We don’t need more laws restricting American rights. We have the laws, and the laws need to be enforced. In most criminal cases where violent gun crimes are involved, there are other crimes tied to the case and frequently the crimes associated with gun violence are dropped. Murder has always been illegal. Doing it with a gun doesn’t make it more illegal. We need to step up and strongly enforce the laws we have.
- Good guys with guns save lives. The violent church shooter in Texas earlier this year wasn’t supposed to even have a gun, but he received one illegally. The bad guys are going to find guns whether they are illegal or not. Gun control laws keep guns out of the good people’s hands and makes us more vulnerable against the bad guys who are going to find them anyway. If it wasn’t for the hero at the West Freeway Church of Christ in Texas, who used his lawfully concealed firearm and eliminated the threat, many more people would have been severely injured or killed.
- I will protect our Second Amendment Rights.
- The right to life is fundamental and given to us by God. It is no accident the evil socialist and Marxist ideology of the left seeks to devalue life so much that mothers and fathers are willing to kill their own children. All of God’s children are endowed with inalienable rights which include life. It’s hard to imagine anyone who has experienced the joy of holding a newborn baby could possibly support taking their life just moments before.
- In 2017, Planned Parenthood performed 332,757 abortions, making them the largest abortion chain in the US. Abortion rates have declined over the past two decades, but PP’s abortion numbers have increased substantially. Killing an unborn child is inherently wrong and can never be justified regardless of circumstances.
- Many argue that fetuses aren’t really human beings. But what else can they be? They won’t grow to be dogs or horses. Life begins at conception. Although a fetus doesn’t look like an adult, a fetus is no less human simply because it is smaller and more delicate. It is our duty to recognize the smallest version of life with all its God-given liberties – and fight those who want to silence a voice that cannot fight back on its own.
- I believe a society which allows killing its yet to be born members in the mother’s womb – is incapable of cherishing and nurturing human life or valuing childhood and motherhood as it should be.
- Too often politicians translate “promote the general welfare” into “control every aspect of the lives of our citizenry”. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was no exception. It was neither about being affordable or about healthcare when it was implemented. Premiums and deductible costs for individuals, families and businesses were being driven higher every day. The healthcare system in the United States has been too bureaucratic and expensive for far too long. Obamacare no longer needs to be repealed, but changes are necessary in the current healthcare plan. Instead of the old top-down approach to healthcare, we need to open up the system to innovation and competition. It’s simple: decrease cost, give more choice, and provide better care. By creating more transparency, our country’s healthcare system will be more patient-centered and less controlled by bureaucrats. We the people should have the freedom and flexibility to choose the care that is best for us; not the care someone in DC decides they think is best for us. As we get older, Medicare should give us more choices too - at every step, we should be in the driver’s seat. It’s time we open up the industry to innovation and competition. It’s time for Congress to keep its promise in fixing a broken healthcare system by using a new dynamic approach.
- Personalized Healthcare.
- More government bureaucracy decreases efficiency and access. Being able to choose your healthcare plan - instead of having one chosen for you by the government - empowers you to choose the care that is best for you, and your budget by expanding the use of health saving accounts. Encouraging competitive, market based approaches to the healthcare system allows people to choose what type of coverage they need at a price and at a plan that fits their lifestyle and health.
- Mental Health
- 27,173 Americans died by suicide in 2017. Think about that number for a second. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. In Utah we have the 5th highest suicide rate in the nation. A nonprofit called Mental Health America showed Utah ranked 50th, the lowest rank, in a national analysis that measured each state’s rate of mental illness. More than 28% of adolescent girls reported they had seriously considered suicide in the previous two years. 1 in 4 of our Utah teens are struggling with mental health and have seriously considered suicide. We have got to put an end to this epidemic. We are losing our country’s most valuable resource - Indeed, we are losing our future. I believe this can be, at least in part, attributed to the devaluation of life and continual push to erase God and self worth from the lives of our children. When people don’t have a purpose, they lose their reason to live. We must return to the judeochristian values that built this country and help our citizenry have hope in the future once again.
- Drug prices and how to decrease them (Insulin Case Study)
- There are more than 30 million Americans with diabetes, a disease that costs the U.S. more than 327 Billion per year. Every living person needs insulin to live - but diabetics cannot effectively use insulin produced by their own bodies, if any is produced at all. This requires diabetics to obtain insulin through the “health-care system” in which prices have skyrocketed in the past decade. In 2009, a 10 milliliter vial of many fast-acting insulin brands cost less than $100. Today, many, if not all brands cost up to and on some occasions more than $300 dollars a vial. (this isn’t sounding very affordable to me) An average diabetic uses 2-3 vials of insulin per month so, the cost is equivalent to that of rent or a mortgage. Many awful stories around the country have surfaced about people living with type 1 diabetes dying because they are forced to ration insulin until the next pay day.
- We should allow prescription drug imports. In Canada, people pay almost ten times less for insulin than they would have to in the U.S. And yet, it is illegal to import prescription drugs from the North border. This is where there is room for advancement and adaptation. There have been bipartisan efforts in Congress to permit American consumers to buy prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies to bring them home for personal use. But when we have Americans dying because of the problem created after the wake of the ACA, it's time to put a stop to government intervention. In Trump’s State of the Union speech he said, “ It is unacceptable that Americans pay vastly more than people in other countries for the exact same drug, often made in the exact same place.” I agree!
- Opioid Crisis
- Under the Obama administration, in 2010 there were 16,651 people dead from drug-induced overdose. Heroin was involved in 3,036 deaths. In Obama’s last year in 2016, 19,413 individuals died as a result of synthetic Opioids. In 2016, 170 thousand people used Heroin for the first time. The economic cost of the Opioid Epidemic is 504 billion a year. It’s time to re-educate our loved ones and our kids about these dangers, because obviously, what has been done in the past no longer is effective. I support President Trump's initiative to tackle the Opioid crisis facing our country.
- There is a place for the federal government in medicines and health. That place is to eliminate barriers that prevent our citizens from getting the medications they need at a price they can afford. We don’t do this through more regulations. We do it through less. Regulations should keep the products safe, not make them unreachable. I fully support President Trump’s right to try and prescription drug initiatives.
- Foreign Policy Considerations
- The United States was generally free to exercise foreign policy as it saw fit until it became dependent on Middle Eastern oil largely during the 1950s. By 1973, this dependency allowed the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (OPEC is OAPEC, minus Egypt and Syria) to punish the US and hold it hostage by reducing energy exports to the U.S. n retaliation for US support to Israel during the Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel. The U.S. was forced to deal both economically and politically with unstable regions such as the middle-East and South America to ensure adequate oil supplies for American needs.
- Thanks to wide American development and use of alternative energy sources, such as ethanol, biodiesel, hydro-power, wind and nuclear, and advancing technology techniques for oil recovery and use, the U.S. has essentially achieved energy independence. This alone ensures that the U.S. can exercise it’s chosen foreign policy without coercion from outside.
- We should be proud of this accomplishment. That a modern, good, free, vibrant nation, such as ours can act for the good of the planet without constraint, should be celebrated by all Americans, as well as those who have felt the gift of food, support, freedom and protection from the U.S. for 200 years. Those endlessly complaining, dark forces both inside and outside the U.S. should not garner our attention. They only hold us back.
- Free to do as we wish, where should we put our foreign policy attention?
- Russia
- Russia is the largest threat to the U.S. However, it is a failing, second-tier nation with an estimated 6,500 nuclear weapons under the control of a soviet depot who, just dismissed the entire rest of the government without opposition. That constitutes enough risk for us to be very diligent as Russia seeks territory in Ukraine, Crimea and Northern territories. Also, Russia continues to meddle with the U.S, using cyber warfare techniques, notably in propaganda and elections.
- Our best approach is to quietly fight the cyberwar, maintain our deterrent military strength and solidify the strength of our EU and NATO alliances. Russia cannot tolerate such an economic squeeze.
- China
- We should recognize that China is in a “quiet war” with the U.S. and is using our money against us. Foolish U.S. government tax policies and overbearing manufacturing regulations drove U.S. companies to develop and manufacture products offshore. We made China great. We made China a nation of high precision/high-quality manufacturing, and killed millions of American jobs. We need to continue to bring manufacturing home and continue to strengthen the American economy with American goods and services.
- A basic understanding of their Belt and Road Initiative tells us exactly what China’s plan is. We need to acknowledge Chinese military expansion in the South China Sea and strengthen our relations with the coastal nations there. We need to counter Chinese business expansion into Africa and South America, recognizing that their goal is to monopolize and control the world’s rare metals and minerals. Finally, China has launched the very best cyber warfare capability against our government and industry. The U.S. needs the best cyber warriors of our own to counter these endless attacks.
- Freed of a two-decade-long war in the middle east, the U.S. should concentrate on our border partners and traditional allies.
- Mexico, Canada, Central America, South America
- Economic success is key to relations with these areas. Dictators and cartels only thrive where good economies don’t exist. We should get back on the path planned by George W. Bush before the tragedy or 9/11/01, to help our neighbors economically and socially toward national success and freedom. Trade deals and alliances help us do sensible immigration policies that provide for U.S. populations’ needs while encouraging economic nation-building inside border nations.
- Europe, NATO, The European Union and the United Kingdom
- After living under U.S. guaranteed protections for 75 years, it is fair and reasonable for these partners to step up their funding and engagement in economics and security. Strong economic and military alliances are essential. Regarding BREXIT, the voters in the UK have spoken and the government needs to listen.
- With 95% of the world’s consumers living outside of the United States, engaging internationally isn’t a question of if, but of when and with whom. America’s and Utah’s economic growth is inextricably tied to its connections to international markets. With more than $14 billion in Utah goods sold globally in 2018, Utah’s export growth now ranks 4th in the nation. Utah’s attractiveness as an investment destination is clear, with international investors fueling innovation and growth across the state. The world wants our goods and services and we need the world to buy our goods and services.
- Utah’s exports stretch across more than 30 industries, supporting over 3,500 small businesses and more than one in five jobs across the state. I also support free trade policies and fair trade deals that strengthen America’s economy. America is better positioned now more than ever to win internationally, but sustaining our economic heading requires us to address new challenges to international trade and investment in the following ways:
- Enhancing market access and ensuring a level playing field in international markets is one of the most important things we can do to grow our economy—and jobs—in Utah and across the country. Free and fair trade is the key to any trade deal.
- Supporting the negotiation of comprehensive trade agreements with Japan, the European Union (EU), the U.K., and other potential trade partners around the globe that stick closely to the negotiating objectives established in the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (known as Trade Promotion Authority).
- Supporting continued negotiations to address China’s unfair trading practices and their theft of American businesses’ intellectual property.
- I believe our economy will continue to expand if we seek out policies that encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism. I am a passionate supporter of free-market principles. Government must get out of the way.
- We cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity. I am fiscally conservative and have proudly signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.
- The Department of Education has grown well beyond its original purpose. We need to bring education decisions back to the local level and encourage more parent involvement.
- We are a country of laws and we must secure our borders. Our focus should always be to protect Americans first.[15]
|
”
|
| —Burgess Owens' campaign website (2020)[17]
|
Jonia Broderick
Broderick’s campaign website stated the following:
| “
|
- Restructure the nation’s tax system
- I believe in a fair tax system
- that ensures that there isn’t an undue financial tax burden placed on families and individuals. I will vote for tax overhauls that would close loopholes for businesses and the highest earners.
- I believe in a federalism
- that states should handle many more situations that have been relegated to the federal government – and so I will support turning those areas back to the states, reducing the federal tax burden accordingly, and then letting the states find the means to pay for the services – through direct or indirect taxation or other means – they choose.
- Prioritize paying down the federal debt
- We are in a severe fiscal crisis. Our national debt has topped $22 trillion and is barreling towards $23 trillion. This is completely unsustainable. Our future security as a nation depends upon our getting this under control. This will be my top priority when I enter Congress.
- I support balanced budget laws and initiatives, short of a constitutional amendment. We need to eliminate the $136 billion of fraud and abuse as soon as possible. We also need to immediately budget only within our means, and also set a path towards debt elimination. This includes tax overhauls that would close loopholes for businesses and the highest earners. It also includes a realistic look at current expenditures in every federal department and tightening those individual budgets. Congress should not receive any pay raises until this occurs, and then they should only receive the same increase Social Security recipients receive until the debt is severely lowered. All proposed legislation should not only be priced by the OMB and GAO, but must also include a statement of fiscal responsibility, showing how this would be paid for while remaining within the balanced budget guidelines.
- While I support semi-privatizing of social security for future generations, I recognize the responsibility to ensure the social security payments for the current generation. There absolutely must be a reformation of the social security system. Shoring up for the present while modernizing for the future is vital.
- Improve efficiency of entitlement programs
- This would include using block grants to states and cities to ensure that the funds to help individuals are being used in the most productive way. Local governments are also more able to eliminate fraud than the federal government can.
- Promote healthcare reforms
- that reduce the costs for average citizens, while recognizing that healthy competition could help spur healthcare innovation.
- As a legislator I would look at each of these elements and work on legislation that approaches the issues individually.
- I will work for insurance reform and regulation; health care pricing transparency laws – allowing patients to see prices up front in order to make informed decisions; and working with insurance companies, health care providers, and others to help to make preventative medical care affordable.
- I would also look at innovative ideas to encourage more students to pursue medical degrees, be it as physicians or physician assistants, such as the approach in California that has allowed physicians to get their student debt paid off by guaranteeing to see a high percentage of Medicare and Medicaid patients, or by pushing for occupational license reform, allowing doctors and other medical professionals to move their licenses state-to-state and permitting qualified non-physicians to provide more care.
- Medical malpractice costs have been reined in with the advent of tort reform legislation in many states, so while that would not be a priority of mine, oversight to ensure those costs don’t go back up would be important.
- All of these reforms cannot, and should not, pass Congress in a single bill. The areas above are unique in their complexity and need to be treated as such. Separate bills covering the individual pieces is the best way to approach this multi-faceted problem and they will be a high priority the moment I arrive in Congress.
- Empower states to improve their education systems
- by removing many of the federal requirements imposed on local schools
- I believe in minimum federal standards in education, but I also believe that each state should be sovereign in determining how to best educate its populace. I will vote for states to retake control of their own education establishment, decreasing the size of the federal education bureaucracy.
- For that to work, states need to have control over most of its land. The western states lease their land from the federal government and thus have less control over its usage. I will vote to remedy that and give the states control over the use of its own lands so that they could have the tax base necessary to provide adequate education funding.
- Tackle the student loan crisis
- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has suggested that for every dollar of increased subsidized loans, college inflation responds with a $.60 increase. That is clearly unsustainable.
- The problem needs to be addressed on two levels:
- 1. Those currently paying off debts (or taking out loans)
- 2. Those yet to enter the college system and accrue student debt
- Going forward requires a holistic approach to education financing reform.
- First, for those currently dealing with student loans I support allowing all borrowers of federal subsidized loans, no matter of prior repayment history or financial status, to enter the Income Driven Repayment Plan program. I also support allowing federal student loans to be more easily discharged through bankruptcy proceedings instead of utilizing the current secondary route of Adversary Proceeding. Going forward requires a holistic approach to education financing reform.
- Second, encouraging schools to lower costs, as Purdue University, the University of Illinois system, and other colleges have done is a major first step. College costs are soaring for a variety of reasons, and schools accepting federal loan dollars need to show what they are doing to keep costs for students down.
- Third, I support encouraging schools to adopt innovative learning opportunities. For those seeking trade certificates or skills, I will recommend those skills be available through high school classes and programs. For those seeking graduate degrees, I will encourage greater use of evening, weekend, and online classes so that students can be working while attaining the advanced degree. These cannot be legislated on the federal level, but economic incentives through the Department of Education could be utilized.
- Fourth, we should cap the amount that can be borrowed through PLUS loans. This has bipartisan support and would be a start.
- Fifth, I will vote to expand the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) for student loans, both federal and private, to require disclosing potential starting salary ranges for all degrees and careers. This could aid in borrowing and education decisions.
- Sixth, I will encourage more schools to adopt non-traditional tracks for students, such as that set out by the BYU Pathways Worldwide program. In that program students earn “stackable certificates” from the first year, allowing them to have marketable skills and certificates after just one year, instead of the traditional general education for two full years before beginning the desired field of study, with no degree or certificate until the entire program is completed. This way students who decide, for whatever reason, that they cannot complete a four-year or more program will not have wasted money – borrowed or from their own coffers.
- Seventh, encouraging schools to adopt innovative financing options, such as the Income Share Agreements some schools are already utilizing. The only caveat to this would be that these need to be regulated and monitored to prevent setting students up for the same financial trouble we are currently seeing.
- Rebuild failing infrastructure
- Many of our highways and bridges are in dire need of repair. I will support responsible spending to fix these problems and bring all bridges and roads up to high safety standards.
- Support responsible climate change legislation
- Our climate is in a crisis and I will vote for bills that will help protect our environment and reduce the effects of climate change. That includes the planting of more trees, increasing emissions standard for vehicles, encouraging the use of solar, nuclear, and wind power, giving incentives to states and the federal bureaucracy to enact responsible climate policies, helping with climate change issues in third world countries, and other climate initiatives.
- Responsibly protect the right to bear arms
- The discussion on how to prevent mass shootings in this country is vital. However, we also need to recognize that mass shooters are fairly rare and far from being the main gun casualty. In fact, suicide accounts for about six out of every ten gun deaths and domestic violence assaults using guns means that on average 52 women are killed by an intimate partner using guns every month. Other assaults and deaths involving guns have staggering numbers.
- The reality is that assault rifles are not the primary gun used in gun-related deaths. That dubious title goes to the handgun.
- There is much talk about mental illness in gun violence episodes, particularly in mass shootings, even though diagnosable mental illness is actually rare in those cases (it is more likely to be an issue in suicides). It is important not to stigmatize those with mental illness and make it less likely that those who are receive the treatment that they need.
- How to solve the problem. We cannot pretend the Second Amendment doesn’t exist, so all new laws need to fit within that framework. I support the following measures: Safe storage laws; Universal background checks; Red flag laws (primarily to prevent suicide); banning extended magazine purchases; and closing the boyfriend loophole.
- Oversight on police violence investigations
- Have Congress direct the Justice Department to provide oversight on police violence investigations.
- Although studies show that police violence against civilians is down, public awareness of these incidents due to social media and 24/7 news cycles is up. Public confidence in the police is low and that can lead to serious problems. I propose authorizing the Department of Justice to provide oversight on investigations into instances and/or reports of police violence. This could help restore confidence in the system. I will further vote to authorize the DOJ to provide training to law enforcement agencies around the country on appropriate use of force, sensitivity issues, and alternative apprehension techniques.
- Protect voting rights of minority groups
- Empower the FEC to ensure states do not enact voting laws that effectively disenfranchises minority voting groups.
- I will vote to provide funding to the FEC that they train state legislatures on appropriate voting laws that will not disenfranchise voters. I will then provide the funds to ensure that all federal elections are fair and open. This will include the FEC monitoring state laws, supporting the DOJ in lawsuits against unfair voting practices in the states, and providing poll watchers to ensure the security of the polling places in areas that have been marked as potentially problematic.
- Secure our borders through fair and compassionate legislation
- We need to recognize the value of immigrants in our society. I will support legislation that increases the number of visas for both short and long-term employment. I also will vote to mandate the use of E-Verify and mandate penalties for companies that defy this.
- In order to ensure that our borders are secure, we need to be smart and utilize our resources to their maximum efficiency: I will vote for funding to have walls and fencing, where they would best work; use virtual fences and high-tech security measures (including at-the-border DNA testing to ensure that children are actually related to the adults bringing them here and not just a tool of a trafficker); and have adequate numbers of trained and professional border patrol agents.
- It should not be a crime for individuals to provide humanitarian aid to those who have crossed the border: Water, medical aid, and other basic aid should be lauded, not condemned. I will support Good Samaritan protection laws to this end.
- For those seeking asylum, we need to:
- Ensure that families who seek asylum together get to stay together
- Provide humane conditions for those who seek asylum
- Expedite the asylum process by having more asylum judges available at the border
- I will fight for legislation that would limit ICE to tracking down and dealing with illegal immigrants who have committed felonies or shown themselves to be a threat to our society: I will not support legislation that divides families through deportation unless there is a criminal element involved.
- Finally, I will fight for legislation that would help individuals stay in their home countries by helping those countries defeat their gang problems, strengthen their economies, teach small business skills to individuals, and help to teach farming techniques that would be more productive for their changing climate: All of this could be done with advisors, not the military.
- Generous in granting asylum to those seeking refuge
- For those seeking asylum, I will vote for laws that would:
- Ensure that families who seek asylum together get to stay together
- Provide humane conditions for those who seek asylum
- Expedite the asylum process by having more asylum judges available at the border
- Be willing to err on the side of compassion
- Be open to welcoming more refugees and giving them help
- Reach out and help those most in need
- I will vote to authorize funding for a significant number of refugees to come to the United States and be resettled here. I will vote for funding to help those refugees with job training, language skills, and initial housing and medical care.
- Re-balance the power between the federal government and the states
- The federal government has assumed far more power than the Founders ever intended. I will vote for legislation that returns as much power back to the states as possible. I will vote for block grants on entitlement spending so that states and local governments can best oversee the real needs of their citizens. I will vote to allow states more autonomy in land usage, limiting the amount of land that is off-limits for states’ use. In voting, I will try to figure out if the issue before the Congress is best handled by state governments or by the federal government and vote accordingly.
- Congress Regain power
- Congress should take back power they handed over to the Presidency
- As stated above, I will prioritize and vote for the returning to the constitutionally mandated co-equal branches of government. I will support legislation that mandates the legislative branch enacting the laws, the executive branch enforcing them, and the judiciary interpreting them
- Shrink influence of special interests and lobbyists
- I will make a public pledge to not allow special interest groups to dictate my policy decisions. I will listen to my constituents through town halls, email, and personal visits when possible.
- Push Congress to stop focusing on re-election
- I am in favor of federal term limits of six terms for Congress and three terms for Senate. This would allow legislators to focus on governing instead of vote-getting. It would also allow more qualified citizens to serve in government, preventing a pseudo-permanent ruling class.
- Enact election security reforms
- I will vote to ensure our elections are safe from outside influences. This includes legislation that would mandate reporting any foreign contacts to campaigns. In addition, I will support legislation that increases election transparency, such as requiring full disclosure on all political ads, whether they be on TV, radio, or social media. I will also support legislation that requires states to utilize computer voting with a paper ballot component, and then providing the funding to make that possible.
- Civility and Decency
- I will run a clean campaign focused on issues, not personalities.
- Integrity, Character, and Virtue
- I will not campaign or vote for issues only because they have polled well, but because I believe in them and believe that they would best serve the people of the Fourth Congressional District. I will not accept any funds from sources that are not completely legal to receive from and I will not accept any foreign contributions to my campaign. Integrity, good character, and virtue are important guiding principles in my life and both my campaign and service in Congress will demonstrate this. There will be no fear that I am betraying my principles for political advantage or convenience.
- Respect for all
- Regardless of Race, Religion, Cultural Heritage, Gender, Country of Origin, or Sexual Orientation
- All people are created by the same Being and are alike in His eyes
- It is the height of hubris for me to think that I have the right to judge another just because they are different from myself. Every policy I propose or endorse will be under the auspices of the following questions: Is it exclusionary? Does it show a bias against any group – specifically a minority or underrepresented group? Will this benefit my constituents as a whole?
- Loyalty to Freedom and the Constitution
- I am a firm believer in the principles found in the Constitution. That includes the separation of powers. As a member of Congress, I will fight to restore the balance between the branches of government, making sure that it is Congress that enacts legislation, leaving it to the Executive Branch to implement, and to the Judiciary to interpret its constitutional.[15]
|
”
|
| —Jonia Broderick's campaign website (2020)[18]
|
John Molnar
Molnar’s campaign website stated the following:
| “
|
- 1: All members of the three branches of government shall have their salaries equated to the median household income of the people they represent, minus the unemployment rate of the same. This amount will be reviewed and adjusted annually with their respective budgets.
- 2: All government officials and their families must receive all healthcare treatment at their local Veteran Affairs Hospitals. No exceptions.
- 3: No individual may hold any combination of political or judicial office for more than 20 years, or upon reaching the age of 65. Retirement will be mandatory dependent upon which circumstance occurs first. Medical diagnosis that would force separation from Military service will also require separation from political or judicial duties and an early retirement.
- 4: Persons holding political or judicial offices shall no longer have any immunity from lawsuits and shall make no laws that apply to themselves any differently than they do to the common people.
- 5: All government officials will no longer receive special exemption of taxation and will be taxed at the same rate as their constituents.
- 6: Government officials will no longer receive retirement packages outside of the standard Social Security available to the people they represent. They are allowed to pursue their own retirement plans with their own funding.
- 7: All government agencies will be made vulnerable to lawsuits by removing immunity statutes and complications in law that prevent the common man from pursuing recourse in court for a redress of grievances.
- 8: A ballot measure voted for by the people shall be implemented by the respective governing body in exact accordance with the voters desires. Any alterations to the measure must be made by a vote of the people during a following election. Any government official found altering a ballot measure outside of the people’s desire is to be immediately removed from office and imprisoned for corruption and treason against the Constitution of the United States and the democracy for which our voting system stands.
- 9: No government body may make any exceptions to these laws listed in this article. Not during peacetime, nor war time. No exceptions whatsoever. Any exceptions made shall signify to the people that corruption has returned to their government and it must be immediately overthrown.
- 10: Law enforcement may not stop any person while in an unmarked vehicle. A person being stopped by an unmarked vehicle will be under no legal obligation to stop and will face no recourse for failing to do so.
- 11: No laws shall be made that do not apply equally between genders or race. Including registration for the draft, subsidies, affirmative actions, etc. Only exception shall be in regards to military occupational status which is the sole jurisdiction of the Department of Defense in its determinations of eligibility.
- 12: Only citizens may vote, hold political office, judicial office, or be licensed to practice law. Members of the US Military who do not possess citizenship shall be awarded full citizenship upon an honorable completion of their first enlistment contract.
- 13: Civil asset forfeiture is to be immediately ceased and removed from practice. The government shall make no laws that violate the right of private property.[15]
|
”
|
| —John Molnar’s campaign website (2020)[19]
|
District represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump in 2016
- See also: U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump in 2016
This district was one of 30 Democratic-held U.S. House districts up in 2020 that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2016 presidential election. Most were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2020.
Click here to see the five U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Utah. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Utah with 45.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 27.5 percent. Independent candidate and Utah native Evan McMullin received 21.5 percent of the vote, his strongest showing in a state. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Utah cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same timeframe, Utah supported Republican candidates more often than Democrats, 73.3 to 23.3 percent. The state favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Utah. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[20][21]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won seven out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 20.8 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 19 out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 21.9 points. Clinton won six districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 68 out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 54.4 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 56 out of 75 state House districts in Utah with an average margin of victory of 30.7 points. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district
|
| District
|
Obama
|
Romney
|
2012 Margin
|
Clinton
|
Trump
|
2016 Margin
|
Party Control
|
| 1 |
9.42% |
89.03% |
R+79.6 |
10.81% |
62.88% |
R+52.1 |
R
|
| 2 |
9.49% |
88.76% |
R+79.3 |
11.45% |
51.57% |
R+40.1 |
R
|
| 3 |
12.34% |
85.57% |
R+73.2 |
15.18% |
48.43% |
R+33.2 |
R
|
| 4 |
22.96% |
73.62% |
R+50.7 |
30.29% |
33.77% |
R+3.5 |
R
|
| 5 |
10.92% |
87.18% |
R+76.3 |
13.60% |
51.67% |
R+38.1 |
R
|
| 6 |
10.18% |
87.91% |
R+77.7 |
13.94% |
48.70% |
R+34.8 |
R
|
| 7 |
22.58% |
75.17% |
R+52.6 |
24.95% |
47.41% |
R+22.5 |
R
|
| 8 |
32.39% |
64.89% |
R+32.5 |
33.89% |
42.27% |
R+8.4 |
R
|
| 9 |
30.35% |
67.18% |
R+36.8 |
29.16% |
46.44% |
R+17.3 |
R
|
| 10 |
34.81% |
62.01% |
R+27.2 |
37.00% |
38.57% |
R+1.6 |
R
|
| 11 |
24.47% |
73.17% |
R+48.7 |
25.28% |
48.10% |
R+22.8 |
R
|
| 12 |
20.44% |
77.27% |
R+56.8 |
20.63% |
52.90% |
R+32.3 |
R
|
| 13 |
19.95% |
77.67% |
R+57.7 |
20.41% |
47.72% |
R+27.3 |
R
|
| 14 |
21.75% |
75.91% |
R+54.2 |
21.48% |
44.83% |
R+23.4 |
R
|
| 15 |
13.20% |
85.22% |
R+72 |
15.05% |
49.86% |
R+34.8 |
R
|
| 16 |
22.55% |
75.36% |
R+52.8 |
24.02% |
47.62% |
R+23.6 |
R
|
| 17 |
15.44% |
82.73% |
R+67.3 |
18.65% |
44.09% |
R+25.4 |
R
|
| 18 |
14.51% |
83.99% |
R+69.5 |
18.83% |
43.66% |
R+24.8 |
R
|
| 19 |
19.24% |
78.78% |
R+59.5 |
23.75% |
40.60% |
R+16.8 |
R
|
| 20 |
21.05% |
77.07% |
R+56 |
25.91% |
40.61% |
R+14.7 |
R
|
| 21 |
27.07% |
70.44% |
R+43.4 |
24.26% |
47.55% |
R+23.3 |
R
|
| 22 |
37.41% |
59.20% |
R+21.8 |
35.79% |
35.31% |
D+0.5 |
D
|
| 23 |
56.84% |
39.68% |
D+17.2 |
59.42% |
21.08% |
D+38.3 |
D
|
| 24 |
61.48% |
33.07% |
D+28.4 |
68.79% |
16.04% |
D+52.8 |
D
|
| 25 |
69.65% |
23.70% |
D+45.9 |
74.08% |
11.49% |
D+62.6 |
D
|
| 26 |
60.94% |
32.81% |
D+28.1 |
64.98% |
19.07% |
D+45.9 |
D
|
| 27 |
6.44% |
92.24% |
R+85.8 |
11.91% |
56.88% |
R+45 |
R
|
| 28 |
54.60% |
41.73% |
D+12.9 |
64.09% |
18.31% |
D+45.8 |
D
|
| 29 |
13.06% |
85.33% |
R+72.3 |
14.40% |
58.81% |
R+44.4 |
R
|
| 30 |
36.99% |
60.36% |
R+23.4 |
38.48% |
33.65% |
D+4.8 |
R
|
| 31 |
43.06% |
54.05% |
R+11 |
43.41% |
31.30% |
D+12.1 |
D
|
| 32 |
27.09% |
70.42% |
R+43.3 |
31.20% |
42.83% |
R+11.6 |
R
|
| 33 |
44.21% |
52.69% |
R+8.5 |
44.63% |
31.45% |
D+13.2 |
R
|
| 34 |
39.64% |
57.37% |
R+17.7 |
41.60% |
31.42% |
D+10.2 |
D
|
| 35 |
51.49% |
44.22% |
D+7.3 |
55.00% |
24.81% |
D+30.2 |
D
|
| 36 |
42.19% |
54.94% |
R+12.7 |
49.52% |
26.90% |
D+22.6 |
D
|
| 37 |
40.42% |
56.67% |
R+16.3 |
45.86% |
31.84% |
D+14 |
D
|
| 38 |
37.19% |
59.58% |
R+22.4 |
37.41% |
33.31% |
D+4.1 |
R
|
| 39 |
35.46% |
61.95% |
R+26.5 |
36.62% |
35.54% |
D+1.1 |
R
|
| 40 |
50.87% |
45.38% |
D+5.5 |
56.43% |
22.35% |
D+34.1 |
D
|
| 41 |
16.24% |
81.72% |
R+65.5 |
18.41% |
49.31% |
R+30.9 |
R
|
| 42 |
23.97% |
73.84% |
R+49.9 |
27.04% |
39.88% |
R+12.8 |
R
|
| 43 |
30.88% |
66.58% |
R+35.7 |
32.50% |
37.41% |
R+4.9 |
R
|
| 44 |
37.44% |
59.36% |
R+21.9 |
40.71% |
33.05% |
D+7.7 |
R
|
| 45 |
34.33% |
62.63% |
R+28.3 |
37.99% |
35.99% |
D+2 |
R
|
| 46 |
41.80% |
55.26% |
R+13.5 |
47.04% |
32.01% |
D+15 |
D
|
| 47 |
29.03% |
68.70% |
R+39.7 |
30.89% |
39.06% |
R+8.2 |
R
|
| 48 |
8.85% |
89.34% |
R+80.5 |
15.28% |
49.21% |
R+33.9 |
R
|
| 49 |
33.11% |
64.55% |
R+31.4 |
37.68% |
38.47% |
R+0.8 |
R
|
| 50 |
18.79% |
79.57% |
R+60.8 |
23.63% |
43.95% |
R+20.3 |
R
|
| 51 |
22.76% |
75.35% |
R+52.6 |
27.60% |
46.79% |
R+19.2 |
R
|
| 52 |
18.13% |
79.66% |
R+61.5 |
20.72% |
46.22% |
R+25.5 |
R
|
| 53 |
24.78% |
72.98% |
R+48.2 |
28.04% |
53.13% |
R+25.1 |
R
|
| 54 |
36.66% |
60.93% |
R+24.3 |
39.86% |
41.21% |
R+1.3 |
R
|
| 55 |
8.36% |
90.17% |
R+81.8 |
7.51% |
77.30% |
R+69.8 |
R
|
| 56 |
8.26% |
89.97% |
R+81.7 |
12.12% |
51.01% |
R+38.9 |
R
|
| 57 |
8.06% |
90.22% |
R+82.2 |
12.76% |
53.20% |
R+40.4 |
R
|
| 58 |
9.98% |
88.32% |
R+78.3 |
10.13% |
66.35% |
R+56.2 |
R
|
| 59 |
10.79% |
87.00% |
R+76.2 |
15.98% |
48.16% |
R+32.2 |
R
|
| 60 |
10.30% |
87.22% |
R+76.9 |
16.52% |
47.59% |
R+31.1 |
R
|
| 61 |
13.38% |
84.32% |
R+70.9 |
18.52% |
43.41% |
R+24.9 |
R
|
| 62 |
13.30% |
85.02% |
R+71.7 |
13.61% |
71.08% |
R+57.5 |
R
|
| 63 |
11.11% |
86.48% |
R+75.4 |
18.77% |
31.71% |
R+12.9 |
R
|
| 64 |
14.96% |
81.98% |
R+67 |
21.07% |
38.70% |
R+17.6 |
R
|
| 65 |
9.38% |
88.79% |
R+79.4 |
13.36% |
54.10% |
R+40.7 |
R
|
| 66 |
8.98% |
89.30% |
R+80.3 |
11.64% |
58.71% |
R+47.1 |
R
|
| 67 |
9.57% |
88.60% |
R+79 |
10.46% |
62.32% |
R+51.9 |
R
|
| 68 |
15.24% |
82.39% |
R+67.2 |
14.03% |
62.30% |
R+48.3 |
R
|
| 69 |
26.06% |
71.16% |
R+45.1 |
20.44% |
66.97% |
R+46.5 |
R
|
| 70 |
15.90% |
81.72% |
R+65.8 |
14.64% |
71.90% |
R+57.3 |
R
|
| 71 |
14.57% |
83.10% |
R+68.5 |
14.76% |
69.24% |
R+54.5 |
R
|
| 72 |
13.87% |
83.89% |
R+70 |
15.11% |
63.65% |
R+48.5 |
R
|
| 73 |
24.42% |
73.56% |
R+49.1 |
23.16% |
62.62% |
R+39.5 |
R
|
| 74 |
17.87% |
80.76% |
R+62.9 |
20.14% |
66.98% |
R+46.8 |
R
|
| 75 |
13.77% |
84.32% |
R+70.6 |
15.58% |
68.95% |
R+53.4 |
R
|
| Total |
24.75% |
72.79% |
R+48 |
27.46% |
45.54% |
R+18.1 |
-
|
| Source: Daily Kos
|
Candidate ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for 4th Congressional District candidates in Utah in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Utah, click here.
| Filing requirements, 2020
|
| State
|
Office
|
Party
|
Signatures required
|
Signature formula
|
Filing fee
|
Filing fee formula
|
Filing deadline
|
Source
|
| Utah |
4th Congressional District |
Qualified party |
7,000 |
Fixed number |
$485.00 |
Fixed number |
3/19/2020 (declaration of candidacy); petitions due two weeks before party convention |
Source
|
| Utah |
4th Congressional District |
Unaffiliated |
300 |
Fixed number |
$485.00 |
Fixed number |
3/19/2020 |
Source
|
District election history
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
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.[22]
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.[23]
2016
- See also: Utah's 4th Congressional District election, 2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as a race to watch. Incumbent Mia Love (R) defeated Doug Owens (D) and Collin Simonsen (Constitution Party) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Love and Owens competed in a rematch of the 2014 race, in which Love defeated Owens by five percent.[24]
U.S. House, Utah District 4 General Election, 2016
| Party |
Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |
| |
Republican |
 Mia Love Incumbent |
53.8% |
147,597 |
| |
Democratic |
Doug Owens |
41.3% |
113,413 |
| |
Constitution |
Collin Simonsen |
4.9% |
13,559 |
| Total Votes |
274,569 |
| Source: Utah Secretary of State |
2014
- See also: Utah's 4th Congressional District elections, 2014
Mia Love (R) won election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. She defeated Doug Owens (D), Jim Vein (L), Tim Aalders (Independent American) and Collin Robert Simonsen (Constitution) in the general election.
U.S. House, Utah District 4 General Election, 2014
| Party |
Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |
| |
Republican |
Mia Love |
50.9% |
74,936 |
| |
Democratic |
Doug Owens |
45.8% |
67,425 |
| |
Libertarian |
Jim Vein |
0.9% |
1,351 |
| |
Independent |
Tim Aalders |
1.4% |
2,032 |
| |
Constitution |
Collin Robert Simonsen |
1% |
1,424 |
| Total Votes |
147,168 |
| Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor, "Elections," |
See also
External links
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2016, 2012, and 2008,"" accessed June 24, 2020
- ↑ UtahPolicy.com, "Trump, Clinton underperformed in Utah's four Congressional Districts in 2016," March 28, 2017
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Twitter, "Ben Winslow," Sept. 16, 2020
- ↑ Other (Specify): 0.2%
Undecided: 13.7%
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Twitter, "Donald J. Trump on July 3, 2020," accessed July 6, 2020
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fox 14, "United Utah Party candidate drops out of race, endorses McAdams," October 14, 2020
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ben McAdam’s 2020 campaign website, “Issues,” accessed October 7, 2020
- ↑ Burgess Owens' 2020 campaign website, “Issues,” accessed October 8, 2020
- ↑ Jonia Broderick’s 2020 campaign website, “Jonia's Vision,” accessed October 8, 2020
- ↑ John Molnar’s 2020 campaign website, “Molnar's 13,” accessed October 8, 2020
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah Democratic front-runners Ben McAdams and Jenny Wilson defeat challengers to avoid primary elections," April 28, 2018
- ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah Republican delegates force Mitt Romney into a primary election with state lawmaker Mike Kennedy in the race for the U.S. Senate," April 24, 2018
- ↑ Utah Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed March 19, 2016
