Watch live: Ben McAdams, Riley Owen debate for Utah's new 1st Congressional District
by Bridger Beal-Cvetko ksl · KSL.comSALT LAKE CITY — Democrat Ben McAdams and Republican Riley Owen will square off Tuesday evening in the first of four debates featuring candidates for Utah's congressional seats.
McAdams, a former U.S. representative and former mayor of Salt Lake County, emerged from a crowded field to secure the Democratic nomination for Utah's 1st Congressional District in June.
Owen is an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve and founded a defense technology company, according to his website. He is a first-time candidate who won the GOP nod at the state party's nominating convention this spring.
The 1st Congressional District is expected to favor Democrats, thanks to a new map that centers the district in northern Salt Lake County. McAdams and Owen qualified for the debate by clearing the 10% polling threshold set by the Utah Debate Commission.
McAdams earned nearly 63% support among the 515 respondents the commission polled, while Owen earned just over 21%. A pair of other candidates — Libertarian Jesse West, 4.7%, and unaffiliated candidate Elias Henry Montgomery, 3.3% — did not qualify for the debate stage.
Tuesday's debate is the first contest hosted by the Utah Debate Commission ahead of the general election, with debates for Utah's three other congressional districts scheduled in the coming weeks.
You can watch the 1st Congressional Debate live when it begins at 6 p.m. at the Grand Theatre on the campus of Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City.
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