Ben McAdams - The Golden Boy of Utah Democrats

Elected Officials of America: Underdog Stories

In 2012, Ben McAdams came back from a 20 point deficit in the polls to become Mayor of Salt Lake County in Utah. In August 2017, he disguised himself as a homeless person for two nights to get a better understanding of the issues facing the homeless population. In addition to those two rarities, he’s a Democrat in heavy Red Utah - a state that Mitt Romney won with 72% of the vote in 2012. He recently announced he is running for Congress against incumbent R-Mia Love, a race to watch in 2018. Hear Ben’s story, and see why if any Democrat has a chance in Utah, it’s Ben.

2:40 - Ben talks about his first thought about running for office.

4:10 - Ben talks about his first state senate race.

8:00 - Ben talks about first Mayoral race.

9:45 - How did you make up a 20 point deficit in the polls to win?

11:20 - Are you the golden boy of the Utah Democrats?

11:45 - How do you gel being a Democrat and a practicing Mormon?

13:30 - Can you speak about the “Don’t give to panhandlers” initiative?

16:00 - How did your family react to you going undercover as a homeless person?

20:00 - Ben goes in-depth about his experience as a homeless person.

21:45 - Can you discuss the scariest part of that experience?

23:10 - Can you touch on any lessons learned from the recent viral incident of the cop arresting the nurse in Salt Lake City, Utah?

25:00 - How is your week-long Congressional race going?

26:20 - What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from being an elected official?

27:40 - What can we do as a country to come together again?

29:00 - What would you say to a young person thinking about getting involved?

31:00 - What’s the biggest personal challenge you’ve overcome in your life?

32:50 - What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given in your life?

34:10 - What would your message be to the United States if you were at a podium?