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After a polarizing first year, Utah Rep. Ben McAdams still finds optimism in Washington

Washington • Rep. Ben McAdams found his first year in Congress to be rather discouraging, in that the place is as dysfunctional as it appears. But he says he still found some early successes — even as he enters the 2020 election year as a top target of the Republicans.

The Utah Democrat arrived in Washington this past January, joining a House that is bitterly partisan and in a year that ended with a nearly party-line vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

“I’ve been disappointed to discover that in many ways it is every bit as partisan on the inside as it looks on the outside,” McAdams said in an interview, looking back at his tenure so far.