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Utah Democrats nominate McAdams for House race against Love

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah Democrats nominated Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams Saturday for what is expected to be the only competitive congressional race in the largely Republican state.

McAdams easily won the nomination against four challengers with 72 percent of delegates' votes during the party's convention in downtown Salt Lake City, and will now face off against two-term GOP incumbent Mia Love. He was the heavy favorite heading in and enjoys the support of the national Democratic campaign arm, which thinks he can aid in the party's goal of flipping 23 seats to take control of the U.S. House.

As he heads into the general election, McAdams is planning to highlight his status as a moderate and paint Love as a "no-show" who has ignored her constituents, he said.

"I'm going to be reaching out to Republicans, Independents and Democrats to find solutions to the challenges that we face in Utah," he said. "People know that I'm somebody who shows up."

Also on Saturday, two-term Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson received votes from 81 percent of party delegates to secure the Democratic nomination for the Senate race to replace retiring lawmaker Orrin Hatch.

She is expected to face off against former presidential candidate Mitt Romney in November, through Romney must first win a June 26 primary against state lawmaker Mike Kennedy.

After her nomination, Wilson said that those intervening months are an "organizational opportunity" for her campaign to reach out to prospective voters, including Republicans. She is likely to criticize Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, as an out-of-state interloper in Utah.

"I'm actually from this state," she told roughly 1,000 delegates at Salt Lake City's downtown convention center.

Wilson faces an uphill battle. Utah voters are overwhelmingly Republican and the state has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1977.

Yet many of the Democrats present expressed cautious optimism about their chances in November, on the heels of surprising recent victories in Pennsylvania, Alabama and other conservative districts. Nationally, Democrats are seizing on the unpopularity of some of President Donald Trump's politics and hoping to take control of Congress after November.

"There's a lot of belief that there's this blue wave thing going around," said Michael Esplin, 28, a student from suburban Millcreek. "But it's still Utah."

The races for the state's three other U.S. House seats are expected to be safe terrain for Republicans.

On Saturday, Westminster College professor James Singer won the Democratic nomination for the 3rd Congressional District. He'll face the winner of a Republican primary between Rep. John Curtis and businessman Chris Herrod.

University of Utah official Shireen Ghorbani won the nomination to square off against incumbent Chris Stewart in the 2nd Congressional District.

Businessman Kurt Weiland and social worker Lee Castillo were forced into a primary to decide who will face eight-term Rep. Rob Bishop, after neither reached the 60 percent of delegate votes' necessary to win the Democratic nomination outright.

FILE - In this April 10, 2017, file photo, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams looks on during a committee hearing in Salt Lake City. Democrats in deep-red Utah are looking to McAdams to flip one of the state's four Republican-controlled congressional districts and help take control of the U.S. House. But first he has to win the party's nomination against four challengers at the party's state convention Saturday, April 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) The Associated Press
In this Jan. 5, 2015 photo, incoming Salt Lake County Council member, Jenny Wilson speaks at the Salt Lake County Council chamber after being administered the oath of office. Democrats in deep-red Utah are looking to Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams to flip one of the state's four Republican-controlled congressional districts and help take control of the U.S. House. But first he has to win the party's nomination against four challengers at the party's state convention Saturday, April 28, 2018. Wilson is the favorite against three opponents, including a former IRS agent and a marketing professional inspired by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The two-term councilwoman was the first woman elected to the Salt Lake County Council.(Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune, via AP) The Associated Press
In this March 21, 2018 photo, Democratic Salt Lake County Council member Jenny Wilson during the House District 24 Democratic Caucus at Ensign Elementary in Salt Lake City. Democrats in deep-red Utah are looking to Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams to flip one of the state's four Republican-controlled congressional districts and help take control of the U.S. House. But first he has to win the party's nomination against four challengers at the party's state convention Saturday, April 28, 2018. Wilson is the favorite against three opponents, including a former IRS agent and a marketing professional inspired by Sen. Bernie Sanders. The two-term councilwoman was the first woman elected to the Salt Lake County Council. (Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) The Associated Press
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