Utah Democrat renews push for rivals to drop out of congressional race as he releases new poll

SALT LAKE CITY — State Sen. Nate Blouin is renewing his push to consolidate the progressive vote around one candidate to defeat former Rep. Ben McAdams in Utah's Democratic primary, citing new poll data.

Blouin released new polling conducted by his campaign on Monday that shows him just 10 percentage points behind McAdams (37%) in Utah's newly redrawn 1st District, with opponents Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell trailing at 13% and 7%, respectively.

The poll comes one week after Blouin announced he would commission the survey, urging the other candidates to unite behind one candidate against McAdams.

"With ballots going out tomorrow, my focus remains the same: putting a progressive leader with a track record of standing up for their community — for reproductive freedom, for healthcare, for housing, for democracy itself — into Congress from CD1, rather than a politician who has capitulated to corporate interests," Blouin said in a statement. "This deep blue district deserves a champion for everyone."

In a polling memo, Blouin's campaign pointed to himself and McAdams as the two top contenders for the Democratic nomination. Because Utah's new 1st District is expected to lean heavily Democratic, whoever wins the primary is poised to become the next representative.

The poll surveyed more than 400 likely voters in the Democratic primary with a margin of error of 4.9%, according to Blouin's campaign.

The poll comes just one day before primary ballots are set to be sent out to voters, and the primary election is scheduled for June 23. Even if Mohamed or Farrell agreed to withdraw from the race, their names will still be printed on the ballots that voters receive.

Still, there's no guarantee the two opponents will side with Blouin in consolidating the progressive vote. The pair separately rejected the strategy last week when it was first announced.

Mohamed, who had a surprising upset over his challengers during the Democratic nominating convention in April, criticized Blouin for conducting a "narrow sample size" of 400 people. Instead, Mohamed argued his victory at the nominating convention was more conclusive.

"The only distictwide Democratic contest that has tested who can unite progressives and defeat Ben McAdams remains the Democratic State Convention, and we won it by a majority," Mohamed said in a statement. "Unity is not a principle you embrace only when you pay for a different outcome. It must be rooted in the will of the community."

Farrell confirmed to the Deseret News Monday that he also has no plans to drop out of the race. He previously accused Blouin of bullying the other progressive candidates and claimed his campaign has failed to garner much support over the last few months.

The Deseret News contacted Mohamed's campaign for comment.

McAdams keeps focus on voting record, endorsements

There hasn't been much public polling for the Democratic primary over the last few months. The only other survey that's made headlines is an internal poll from Blouin's campaign in March that saw McAdams as the clear front-runner.

However, that poll showed Blouin ahead of McAdams after answering questions about the candidates, although it's unclear what information was shared with voters during the survey.

Meanwhile, McAdams has kept his campaign's focus away from Blouin and rather on his previous voting record and statewide endorsements. McAdams announced support from the League of Conservation Voters on Monday, a group representing local and national Democratic leaders, progressive organizations, Utah's labor movement, and dozens of state and local elected officials.

"I'm proud to have earned the support of the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund because I've spent my career protecting what makes Utah special, and I'm ready to get back to Congress to defend our lands, restore the Great Salt Lake, and fight for clean air and clean water," McAdams said in a statement.

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