Riley Owen, a Republican, is running for Utah's 1st Congressional District in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Owen won the Republican nomination with 71.2% of the delegate vote at the Utah GOP Nominating Convention on April 25, 2026, according to KUER. He faces Democrat Ben McAdams, independent Elias Henry Montgomery and Libertarian Jesse West.

Candidate information

  • Age: 27
  • Party: Republican
  • Background: Owen said he was raised in Southern California. He traces six generations of Utah family who settled after immigrating from Denmark, according to his campaign website.
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in international relations and affairs from Princeton University; master's degree in public policy from the University of Oxford; Eisenhower Global Scholar, Eisenhower Fellowships, 2024.
  • Religion: Owen said he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denmark, according to his campaign website.

Experience and public service

Owen said he worked as a policy analyst at the White House, where he said his work spanned manufacturing and trade sectors including shipbuilding, critical minerals, semiconductors and agricultural products, according to his campaign website. He also said he assisted federal COVID-19 response efforts, coordinating use of the Defense Production Act to produce and distribute personal protective equipment, test kits and ventilators.

He then moved to the private sector. Owen said he helped build a defense technology startup that supports Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion, according to his campaign website. BallotReady lists his roles as managing director at Sentala and chief executive officer at Doers Network. He also serves as a naval officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, according to BallotReady.

On the issues

The following positions are Owen's own statements, drawn from his campaign issue responses.

Housing: Owen said he would fight for affordable housing by conditioning federal funding on localities implementing zoning reform.

Government reform: Owen said he would pursue a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and establish term limits of six for representatives and three for senators. He also said he would sponsor legislation to end congressional stock trading for members and staffers.

Great Salt Lake: Owen said he would convene local stakeholders and national agencies to save the Great Salt Lake.

Defense: Owen said he would push to modernize the military by reducing costs and prioritizing low-cost, expendable unmanned systems over expensive legacy platforms.

Taxes: Owen said he would advocate for expanded tax credits to businesses offering six weeks of paid maternity leave.

Candidate issue responses were collected through BallotReady and the candidate's campaign website. Not all candidates responded to every topic.