Republican activist Kathleen Anderson is the first Republican to charge into the race to face freshman Democrat Ben McAdams in Utah’s 4th Congressional District next year.
Anderson, who is a past president of the Utah Federation of Republican Women, announced her campaign via press release and YouTube video Friday morning.
“I’ve noticed increasing concern with the direction of politics in Washington, and how Utah’s traditional values and voices are being ignored by Representative Ben McAdams,” she said in the release.
UtahPolicy.com first reported in May Anderson was exploring a run for Congress after meeting with Republican movers and shakers in Washington and other conservative groups. She is the first in what is expected to be a crowded field vying for the Utah Republican nomination in UT04 next year. State Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, is expected to announce her candidacy soon. Other candidates who are said to be considering joining the race are State Senator Daniel Hemmert, R-Orem, State Rep. Jefferson Moss, R-Saratoga Springs and Utah County Commissioner Nathan Ivie.
Some have suggested former Rep. Mia Love, who lost a squeaker to McAdams in 2018 may be eyeing a rematch next year, but several Republican sources say Love, who is a commentator on CNN, is not interested in a campaign next year.
McAdams is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress heading into the 2020 election. UT04 has a partisan lean of R+13, meaning it is 13-points more Republican than the national average. It is one of 31 districts held by a Democrat that Donald Trump won during the 2016 race. McAdams won his 2018 race by less than 700 votes in the heavily Republican district.
Anderson will inevitably face questions about her residency as she lives in Bountiful, which is far outside of the boundaries of the 4th district. However, that may not be a problem as McAdams also lives outside of the district boundaries and still won the 2018 midterm election. Jason Chaffetz also lived outside of his Congressional district when he first won election.
