Utah News Dispatch
Another Democrat joins the race to represent Utah’s new, left-leaning district
Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Salt Lake City, speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
State Sen. Nate Blouin is jumping into the race for a newly drawn congressional district favoring Democrats.
Blouin is running for Congress in 2026 instead of a second term in the Utah Senate because he wants to stand up to President Donald Trump and work on making housing more affordable, he told Utah News Dispatch Monday.
“People are having to decide between a mortgage or child care, and that’s unacceptable. We should be able to provide people in the richest country in the world with all of those opportunities,” Blouin said.
Blouin, 36, said he believes Congress needs more representatives who are younger and understand what it’s like to navigate today’s economy with student debt.
Redistricting ruling: Utah judge picks plaintiffs’ congressional map, blocks Legislature’s
Earlier this month, a Utah judge rejected a map proposed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature, saying it did not comply with a 2018 voter-approved law establishing an independent redistricting process and neutral map-drawing criteria.
The judge selected boundaries pitched by a coalition of voting rights groups and citizens, creating the state’s first Democratic-leaning district in 20 years.
Blouin’s announcement this week follows those of former state Sen. Derek Kitchen, state lawmaker Katheen Riebe and former congressman Ben McAdams, all declaring a bid for the U.S. House seat ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Blouin was elected to the state Senate in 2022 and represents parts of Sugar House, Millcreek, Murray, West Valley City and South Salt Lake. He said the entirety of his current district is contained in the new District 1.
“I know from these constituents that I’m standing up for the stuff that they — the values that they — believe in, and I’m going to keep doing that,” Blouin said.
Outside of serving in Utah’s part-time Legislature, he is a communications strategy consultant working with clean energy and environmental groups.
