Utah Democrats to nominate an anti-Biden congressional candidate — only because he promises to step aside

Utah Democrats plan to nominate an anti-Joe Biden candidate for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District on Saturday who has already promised he will step aside and let the party pick a replacement to take his spot on November’s ballot.

Brian Adams came under fire from a variety of Democratic organizations, including the Young Democrats of Utah and the Disability Caucus, for claiming Jan. 6 rioters were being “politically persecuted” and criticizing President Biden for facilitating an invasion at the southern border.

Opponents were pushing the party to not nominate a candidate and leave the spot on the ballot vacant, since Adams was the only Democrat to file to run for the office, currently held by U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy.

[READ: Trump endorses Trent Staggs for Senate ahead of Utah GOP nominating convention]

But Utah Democratic Vice Chair Oscar Mata said at Saturday’s State Nominating Convention that Adams had committed to withdrawing from the race if he is nominated. In the past, the party could only pick a replacement if a candidate died or withdrew because of health issues, but because of a recent change to the law, the party can now pick a replacement if a nominee drops out for any reason.

Adams confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday that he would withdraw after he is nominated.

“Everyone seems to agree with the course of action,” Adams said in a text message. “I agreed to it and told them I was happy to help.”

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Adams owns a renewable energy company in Clearfield and, according to his campaign website, was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army.

On his campaign Facebook page, Adams leans into election security memes, trashes Biden and rails against the influx of immigration. And, he said, many of the Trump supporters who were present for the Jan. 6 riots were being “politically persecuted” and should not be charged.

On Friday, after there were demands in Democratic circles that the party not nominate him, Adams didn’t back away from his positions and said he “would see” how the situation would unfold at the nominating convention.

“My response would be: Do I have to think like them in order to represent people well? I thought diversity was our strength,” Adams said in an interview Friday. “And I’d also say, that’s not very inclusive of them.”

Editor’s note • The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story multiple times during Saturday’s Democratic nominating convention. Check back here for updates.

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