Name: McAdams-Owens congressional race all tied up, Deseret News/Hinckley poll finds
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McAdams-Owens congressional race all tied up, Deseret News/Hinckley poll finds

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SHARESALT LAKE CITY — A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll released Monday shows a tie in the 4th Congressional District race between Utah’s only Democrat in Congress, Rep. Ben McAdams, and Republican challenger Burgess Owens.Both McAdams and Owens have the support of 35% of 800 registered voters in the 4th District, which includes portions of Salt Lake and Utah counties. But nearly a quarter of voters polled — 24% — said they don’t know who they’d vote for if the November election were held today.Just 4% of voters backed Libertarian candidate John Molnar, and 2% supported the United Utah Party’s Jonia Broderick. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points and was conducted by independent pollster Scott Rasmussen for the Deseret News and the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics.Rasmussen said the numbers signal that Utah’s 4th District is “one of the bellwether races of this election season.” The pollster said a McAdams victory wouldn’t be a surprise since he’s the incumbent, but a close race suggests Republicans across the country may fare better than expected in an election year when GOP President Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket but trailing nationally in the polls.“As long as it remains close, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a good night for Republicans,” at least when it comes to taking control of the House from Democrats, Rasmussen said. “But it could mean they’d be more competitive in other races.”Although McAdams has been labeled one of the country’s most vulnerable members of Congress seeking reelection, national analysts rate the race as . McAdams, a former state lawmaker and Salt Lake County mayor, was first elected to the seat in 2018, defeating two-term GOP Rep. Mia Love by less than 700 votes.Political newcomer Owens, a former NFL player and frequent Fox News guest, won the June 30 Republican primary election with nearly 44% of the vote over state Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, former KSL Newsradio host Jay Mcfarland and nonprofit CEO Trent Christensen.Hinckley Institute of Politics Director Jason Perry said the poll results show why this is the race to watch in Utah.“This is a very competitive district historically and it’s become even more so now,” Perry said, with the winner determined by who can secure support from moderate Republicans and independent voters. “It comes down to which candidate can find a strong tailwind going into the November election.”Two years ago, he said, McAdams got a boost from an initiative to legalize medical marijuana that drove Utahns to the polls. This year, Perry said it could come down to the impact of the presidential race between Trump and the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden.So far, Biden is having a “neutral” effect on McAdams’ campaign, Perry said, since the Democrat has been careful not to tie himself to the national party, but “to the extent the moderate voters in the state of Utah pull behind Joe Biden as the presidential candidate, that could end up being a tailwind for him in this election cycle.”Owens has been endorsed by Trump and it remains to be seen how that affects his standing with voters who may be less enthusiastic about the president. Perry said he believes the significant number of undecided voters in the poll are likely those moderate Republicans and independents who’ll swing the election.But David Wasserman, who as House editor of “The Cook Political Report” is among the national analysts who give McAdams the edge in the November election, questioned why there would be so many 4th District voters who are unsure who they support.“It’s really hard to believe that in this polarized political environment, with a well-known incumbent and a Republican challenger that’s just gotten through a high-profile primary that there would be such a large undecided share. We’re just not seeing that in any other race in the country,” Wasserman said. He said Owens’ strength in the poll might be the result of voters aligning with a party label and could change.“If voters in the 4th were casting a blind ballot for party without looking at the candidate, I have no doubt it would be very close,” Wasserman said. “McAdams is a stronger-than-average Democrat, considering his name ID and his ‘Blue Dog’ positioning” as a centrist while Owens is seen as a candidate who’s further right.“Owens is not the type of Republican we would typically consider strong in the 4th District. He’s more of a Fox News personality than a business leader in the community,” he said. “Right now, polling the district might be a reflection of party labels.”Wasserman still rates the race in McAdams’ favor, but said “it’s a close call between ‘toss-up’ and ‘lean D.’ McAdams has a financial advantage that can allow him to highlight the controversial statements Owens has made. For that reason alone, we might expect McAdams to have some upside. But it’s very competitive.” Although both national Republican and Democratic groups have already targeted the race, McAdams reported on hand at the end of the last Federal Election Commission reporting period on June 30, compared to just under $91,000 for Owens.Since then, the president’s son, raised money for Owens at several Utah events.The poll found that about the same number of voters see each candidate favorably — 44% for McAdams and 42% for Owens. But nearly a third of voters polled, 32%, have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic congressman while 23% view Owens unfavorably.And 35% weren’t sure how they feel about Owens, compared to 24% for McAdams.Both Rasmussen and Perry said McAdams’ unfavorable numbers are not unusual for a member of Congress. Perry said Owens still is not known by many voters, and that means they may have missed his recent missteps, including initially supporting the and appearing to endorse a .Owens has “not lost his opportunity to make a strong run here in the final stretch, but he has a huge percentage of people to win over,” Perry said. “It’s not enough in this district to be a Republican.”Owens told KSL Newsradio’s Lee Lonsberry that voters want to hear his message promoting the values that he “shares as a patriot” and that brought him to Utah seven years ago.“I have so much faith that if we stay focused on the values that made our country great, which is education, faith, industry and the family unit, that will resonate. I truly believe that. I look forward to having that conversation and making sure more people know who I am and what I stand for,” he said.The Democratic Party is “not reflective of Utah,” Owens said, His campaign spokesman, Jesse Ranney, said, “Burgess has been excited to see how receptive the voters have been on his plans to tackle police reform, child trafficking and other important issues Congress has sadly overlooked. The more he gets to know voters the more excited they get.”McAdams told Lonsberry that it’s “to be expected” that many voters haven’t made up their minds yet in what he believes will be a close race.“A lot of people want to take time to look at both candidates and understand the race. It’s my job to explain to them what I’ve done,” he said. “What we’re going to be talking about is reminding them that I’ve always been a bridge builder. Everything I do is about bringing people together and solving problems.”That’s what is needed in a “deeply broken Washington, McAdams said, labeling himself a moderate. “I’ve built relationship with the other side and I’m using those relationships to get things done for Utah. But I’m also not afraid to go it alone, if I think the Congress is heading in the wrong direction.”McAdams’ campaign manager, Andrew Roberts, said in a statement, “Ben is an independent voice for Utahns. We’re confident that’s what voters want and that they’ll reject Owens’ extreme views in favor of Ben’s commonsense approach.”Roberts said McAdams “listens to Utahns’ concerns and is working in Congress to help Utah families and small businesses hit hard by coronavirus, protect children online and stop the president’s plan to restart explosive nuclear testing that puts our health and our environment at risk.”Next Up InA university spokesman said the students will also be referred to the Dean of Students for “potential noncriminal sanctions.”BYU drops ban on fan, says investigators scrutinized video and audio and reached out to 50 eyewitnesses, including Duke players and athletic department personnelUtah Republican Sen. 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SHARESALT LAKE CITY — A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll released Monday shows a tie in the 4th Congressional District race between Utah’s only Democrat in Congress, Rep. Ben McAdams, and Republican challenger Burgess Owens.Both McAdams and Owens have the support of 35% of 800 registered voters in the 4th District, which includes portions of Salt Lake and Utah counties. But nearly a quarter of voters polled — 24% — said they don’t know who they’d vote for if the November election were held today.Just 4% of voters backed Libertarian candidate John Molnar, and 2% supported...

McAdams-Owens congressional race all tied up, Deseret News/Hinckley poll finds

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