Former NFL Player Burgess Owens Appears to Defeat Rep. Ben McAdams in Utah

Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) in a 2018 file photograph. Scott G Winterton/Deseret News, via AP, Pool

Republican Burgess Owens appears to have defeated Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) in Utah’s 4th District House seat, with local news outlets declaring him the winner.

McAdams has not conceded to Owens, a former NFL player-turned-conservative pundit.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Owens had a nearly 2,100-vote lead over McAdams, saying it’s “insurmountable.” The Tribune said Owens received about 47.50 percent of the vote in the district to McAdams’s 46.93 percent.

President Donald Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) praised Owens for his apparent victory.

“Great going Burgess, you continue to be a STAR!” Trump wrote. “Congratulations @BurgessOwens! Looking forward to talking with you in DC next week!” added Lee.

Neither McAdams nor Burgess immediately commented on the numbers as of this weekend.

Owens notably won a Super Bowl when he played for the then-Oakland Raiders. He’s been critical of Black Lives Matter, socialism, and kneeling during the U.S. national anthem.

“We have a responsibility as we pass the torch down to the next generation, and there is an example of someone we all respect: Kobe,” Owens told Breitbart earlier this year. “There is a difference in Kobe’s approach to life, and maybe some other athletes who don’t quite get it. So let’s start with the fact that every generation of Americans are responsible for one major thing. If we come at it aggressively, and do it the right way, we’re successful and we’re looked at as successful.”

Owens said that his generation “allowed the socialists and Marxists to get in our school systems and teach our kids a different way than we were brought up,” adding that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is a “good example.”

“In today’s society, our greatest enemy is socialists and Marxists who lay in wait and attack our most vulnerable. In this case, you have kids going to school fresh-eyed and excited about life and looking forward to a great future, but they come out anti-American Marxists. We have to understand that’s what we’re up against as Americans, and we have to make sure our kids have a better future and more positive future with love for country, God, and family—and we have to start fighting against this evil of socialism and Marxism,” he said at the time.

McAdams’s seat was considered a toss-up since he defeated incumbent Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) by 700 votes. Since then, McAdams attempted to portray himself as a moderate but ultimately supported Trump’s impeachment in the House.