McAdams actions to re-election

McAdams at a town hall

McAdams re-election challenges

Utah is a very Republican state. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton won only 27% of the votes there. In Utah's 4th District, where Ben McAdams won his first congressional race, Hillary was able to snag 32%. While McAdams won the district running as a Democrat, it was only by a few hundred votes. Come re-election time, the fact that McAdams is a Democrat means that he will have a very tough fight on his hands. In the next two years, he will have to prove that he is moderate enough to represent a red area, while still working with Democratic leaders to pass legislation. 

Trips home

McAdams has been back to his district every chance he has gotten. This two thousand mile trip is completed in only 5 hours by airplane, allowing him to travel back home on Fridays, hold events Saturday, and return to D.C. on Sundays to prepare for session, all on the dime of the federal government. During his time back he has spoken at BYU, had lunch with mayors, met with state legislators, and played with his kids. He has also hosted town halls with constituents, a daunting effort in Republican territory. These events are well documented on his twitter page.

Town halls

Following the 2016 election, town halls have become a popular way for representatives to connect with their district. McAdams has used these town halls to state his position against the firebrand liberals that he works with, saying "I don’t know where the Democratic Party will go, but I tell you what, I will stay in the center." He has also used them to suggest he is willing to compromise on border control.

Work in Congress

As a freshman representative, McAdams does not hold a lot of power yet in the party. He has co-sponsored 10 bills so far, most of which have had broad support and are sponsored by dozens of other House members. He has voted against the Democrat position 8 times out of 79 votes. These have mostly been symbolic, but he did keep his campaign promise of not voting Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. He so far has not sponsored any bills. 

Other efforts

Each House member gets a Members’ Representational Allowance to use on a wide variety of expenses. One things McAdams has used it on is the hiring of 11 full time staffers to support him. The median amount given to a representative is $1,365,000 and it can also be used for mailings, among other things. He has been receiving mentoring from Utah Democrat Jim Matheson, who served 7 House terms before retiring from politics.