Ben McAdams

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Ben McAdams

Benjamin "Ben" McAdams (born December 5, 1974 in West Bountiful , Davis County , Utah ) is an American Democratic Party politician . He has represented Utah's 4th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives since 2019 . From 2009 to 2013 he was a member of the Utah Senate, and from 2013 to 2019 he was Mayor of Salt Lake County .

Family, education and work

McAdams, whose seventh generation family lives in Utah, grew up with five siblings in a conservative, rural area north of Salt Lake City . His father was a used car dealer who changed jobs frequently, and his mother was a teacher.

He began his studies at Weber State University and continued it with a Pell Grant at the University of Utah . There he studied from 1997, was chairman of the university group of the Democrats and graduated in political science with a bachelor's degree in 2000 . He had started studying engineering, but was particularly enthusiastic about President Bill Clinton's second inauguration in January 1997 and completed an internship in the Clinton White House . He attended the Law School of Columbia University in New York City , he attended the the Columbia Human Rights Law Review wrote and 2003 Juris Doctor received. While still a student, he was employed in corporate communications for the clothing retailer White House / Black Market from 1998 to 2001 . After completing his studies, he worked in New York from 2003 to 2006 as a lawyer for the major international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell , according to his own information, to pay off the debts of his studies.

He then moved back to Utah with his family and worked for the Dorsey & Whitney law firm in Salt Lake City from 2006 to 2008 . From 2007 to 2012 he was an adjunct professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Utah (SJ Quinney College of Law). From the beginning of 2008, he advised the recently-elected mayor of Salt Lake City, Ralph Becker, and was then considered the upcoming star of the Democrats in Utah.

McAdams is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In the mid-1990s he was working for a mission in Brazil and saw great poverty there, which, according to his own statements, shaped his political views. He has four children with his wife Julie. They had met in high school and married in college; both had studied at Columbia University.

Political career

In 2009 McAdams was elected to the Utah Senate in the by-election to fill the vacant seat of Scott McCoy in the 2nd constituency. In early 2011 he was chairman of the Democrats there. In 2012, McAdams was elected Mayor of Salt Lake County with 55 percent of the vote and therefore left the Senate in early 2013. His party colleague Jim Dabakis won the resulting by-election and took over McAdams 'vacant seat. In January 2013, McAdams' inauguration as mayor took place. He was re-elected in November 2016 with 59 percent of the vote.

In the November 2018 election , McAdams ran in Utah's 4th Congressional constituency for the seat in the United States House of Representatives , previously held by Republican Mia Love and which includes the southern suburbs of Salt Lake City . McAdams, who is popular as mayor, won the Democratic nomination in their June 2018 primary election unopposed after winning the Democratic Party meeting in late April with 72 percent of the vote. Love was considered to be at risk as the only Congressional mandate holder from Utah, especially since Trump only received 39 percent of the vote in the presidential election in this district (Clinton 32 percent, the rest went to the independent Evan McMullin ). Similarly high donations and a narrow lead in the polls, Loves indicated a narrow choice, so that many observers assessed it as completely open. McAdams won the election so narrowly with 50.1 to 49.9 percent that the result was only certain two weeks after the election. With 694 votes, his lead was only slightly above the margin from which a recount could have been requested.

McAdams joined the US House of Representatives on January 3, 2019. There he belongs to the non-partisan Solver Caucus problem . While voting with fellow Utah congressmen against the introduction of a general minimum wage of $ 15 in July 2019 , he was the only Utah MP to support a House resolution calling President Donald Trump's tweets racist , in which he spoke to four women of color , who belong to the House of Representatives, called on them to return to their countries of origin. In the first six months after his election, McAdams raised nearly $ 900,000 in campaign contributions, one of the highest numbers for newcomers to Congress. In the upcoming 2020 election , which will coincide with the presidential election, McAdams' seat is seen as one of the main Republican targets. In addition, the independent Jonia Broderick has announced a candidacy that has a profile similar to Adams and competes with him for the same voters. At the end of July 2019, McAdams received the best values ​​of all members of Congress in Utah in a poll with 43 percent approval.

Positions

McAdams described his political positions in 2010 as progressive and his style as pragmatic and consensus-oriented. In the 2018 election, he relied on his image as a moderate centrist. Unlike most members of his party, McAdams advocates strict fiscal policy , but at the same time stands for a liberal immigration policy, especially towards refugees. He personally opposes abortion ( Pro-Life ), but has voted against state abortion laws. When a state-wide ban on same-sex marriage was to be enforced in Utah in 2009, he worked with the Mayor of Salt Lake City through discussions with Republicans and church officials to ensure that LGBT protection was upheld in the city. He is supported by his party leadership and the Blue Dog Democrats , who represent moderate to conservative positions, and the League of Conservation Voters , who campaign for environmental protection.

Web links

Commons : Ben McAdams  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Lisa Riley Roche: New Utah state senator Ben McAdams is youthful but not naive. In: Deseret News , January 23, 2010
  2. ↑ a b c Libby Coleman: There's a Reason He's the Highest Ranking Dem in Utah. In: OZY.com , February 20, 2017
  3. ↑ a b Ben McAdams' Biography. In: Vote Smart.
  4. ↑ Eric S. Peterson: Devoutly Democratic: Ralph Becker's new adviser Ben McAdams liberally keeps the faith. In: Salt Lake City Weekly , Jan. 2, 2008
  5. ^ Benjamin Michael McAdams: Biography. In: SJ Quinney College of Law
  6. ^ Becker adviser Ben McAdams chosen as new state senator. In: Deseret News , December 20, 2009.
  7. ^ A b McAdams, Benjamin M. In: OurCampaigns.com.
  8. ↑ Ben McAdams wins Salt Lake County mayor's race. In: The Salt Lake Tribune , November 7, 2012.
  9. ↑ Jim Dabakis elected to McAdams' Utah Senate seat. In: Desert News , December 1, 2012.
  10. ^ Entry on the Salt Lake County website .
  11. ^ Utah Primary Election Results. In: The New York Times , June 28, 2018
  12. ^ Utah Democrats nominate McAdams for House race against Love. In: WTOP.com , April 28, 2018.
  13. ↑ Maeve Reston: The real race to watch in Utah this November is not Mitt Romney's - it's Mia Love's. In: CNN.com , June 29, 2018
  14. ↑ Lisa Riley Roche: Love-McAdams race now rated a toss-up. In: Deseret News , October 3, 2018; Utah 4th District - Love vs. McAdams. In: RealClearPolitics
  15. ↑ 2018 Midterm Election Forecast: Utah 4th. In: FiveThirtyEight .
  16. ↑ Brent D. Griffiths: Rep. Mia Love loses to Democrat in Utah. In: Politico , November 20, 2018
  17. ↑ Lee Davidson: It's over. Democrat Ben McAdams ousts Republican Rep Mia Love by 694 votes. In: Salt Lake Tribune , November 20, 2018.
  18. ^ Matthew Brown: What a visit to the border taught Utah Rep. Ben McAdams about fixing the immigration crisis. In: The Deseret News , July 30, 2019.
  19. ↑ Lisa Riley Roche: Democrat Ben McAdams, rest of Utah delegation, vote against $ 15 federal minimum wage. In: The Deseret News , July 18, 2019
  20. ↑ Lisa Riley Roche: Rep. Ben McAdams casts only Utah vote for resolution condemning Trump over 'racist comments'. In: The Deseret News , July 16, 2019.
  21. ^ Rep. Ben McAdams raises $ 525K in three months, among top fundraisers in the House. In: KUTV.com , July 16, 2019.
  22. ^ Bryan Schott: Ben McAdams' re-election campaign just got a lot dicier. In: Utah Policy , July 30, 2019.
  23. ↑ Dennis Romboy: Voters not so pleased with Utah members of Congress, especially Sen. Mitt Romney. In: The Deseret News , July 26, 2019.
  24. ^ Utah Democrats nominate McAdams for House race against Love. In: WTOP.com , April 28, 2018.
  25. ^ Nicole Knight: Utah Democrat's Abortion Stance Sparks Questions Ahead of Midterms. In: Rewire News , July 31, 2018.
  26. ^ Deirdre Walsh: Inside the Democrats' efforts to elect more Conor Lambs. In: CNN.com , March 18, 2018
  27. ↑ Jonathan Miller: The Blue Dogs Are Barking Again. In: Roll Call , May 23, 2018
  28. ^ Holly Burke: LCV Action Fund Endorses Ben McAdams for Congress. In: LCV.org , June 15, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME McAdams, Ben
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McAdams, Benjamin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Democratic Party politician
DATE OF BIRTH 5th December 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH West Bountiful , Utah