Liban Mohamed, a 27-year-old son of Somali immigrants, is headed into a high-stakes Utah Democratic congressional primary in June after narrowly winning the state party convention last month with 51% of the vote in what was seen as an upset for the party’s political establishment.

The sudden emergence of an unknown progressive candidate in Utah has exposed a growing divide within the state’s Democratic party, one that mirrors a broader tension across the national party between its moderate establishment and a younger, more progressive wing.

In the race for Utah’s first congressional district, Mohamed defeated former congressman and former Salt Lake county mayor Ben McAdams, a well-funded candidate he will face again on the ballot. In Utah, candidates can reach the primary ballot either by winning the convention or by gathering enough signatures, and four candidates – Mohamed, McAdams, state senator Nate Blouin and attorney Michael Farrell – qualified through signatures.

The candidate, who previously worked in public policy at Meta and TikTok, said his rise reflected growing frustration with what many voters see as a failure to represent working-class and immigrant communities. “The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” Mohamed said. “Utahns are willing to take a risk on hope over the certainty of the status quo.”

Born in a small town in Utah, he draws parallels between his family’s refugee experience and the history of the state’s Latter-day Saint, or Mormon, community, which has a legacy of religious persecution in America.

“In a lot of ways, many people here see themselves as refugees,” Mohamed said. “So when they see families coming from places like where mine came from, seeking asylum, they have a soft place in their hearts.”

His victory came amid controversy surrounding other candidates in the race. Blouin, once a top contender and a former Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer, faced backlash after resurfaced online posts included jokes about sexual assault, slurs and comments denigrating members of the Mormon faith. Blouin has since apologized and told the convention that he is reckoning with his past mistake. Meanwhile, the Salt Lake City council member Eva Lopez Chavez was accused of unwanted sexual advances by multiple people, allegations she has denied. She was eliminated in the first round of voting.

Mohamed’s rise also comes at a pivotal moment in Utah politics after years of legal battle led by a nonpartisan group to reinstate Proposition 4, an anti-gerrymandering initiative. The state’s first congressional district was redrawn after the state supreme court struck down Republican-drawn maps in a landmark anti-gerrymandering ruling early this year, creating a more compact, Democratic-leaning seat centered on Salt Lake county that is widely diverse, young and largely progressive-leaning.

“This district is not what most people think,” Mohamed said in a phone interview. “We have 60,000 refugees, 60,000 Muslims and nearly 120,000 people from the Latinx community.”

His candidacy also reflects broader Democratic momentum nationwide, with many in the Utah Democratic establishment called it another “Mamdani moment”. But despite the convention win, Mohamed remains largely an underdog in Utah. He is still polling in the single digits, while both McAdams and Blouin hold double-digit leads and significant fundraising advantages.

For Mohamed, the decision to run came amid a renewed immigration crackdown under the second Trump administration and a period of heightened tension with Somali communities in the midwest. In Minnesota, federal immigration operations intensified under what officials called Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale enforcement effort that deployed thousands of agents to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and sparked national outrage after multiple deadly encounters involving federal officers.

Trump had repeatedly targeted Ilhan Omar, the only Somali American member of Congress, amplifying rhetoric that many Somali Americans viewed as hostile. At the same time, online content accusing members of the Somali community of fraud circulated widely by rightwing YouTubers, further fueling tensions. “I had to ask myself, do I stand up and fight back with full strength, knowing it could bring more attention to our district and potentially bring ICE here faster?” he said. “That moment made me realize what this is about. It’s finding a leader hopeful enough to fight when the time is right, but careful enough to do what’s best for the community.”

When Mohamed – who is endorsed by Omar – announced his candidacy, the backlash was immediate.

“I was flooded with more than 40,000 anti-immigrant, Islamophobic messages,” he said. “There were people who were scared, and maybe even shocked, that a 27-year-old Somali American, the son of immigrants, in Utah of all places, would believe he belongs in Congress.”

Despite that response, Mohamed said Utah itself was not the problem, but the state’s politics. “Our politics and our representation are not reflecting the true values we possess,” he said.

With the primary quickly approaching, the candidate is hoping a groundswell of voters will stitch together a winning coalition.

“We have first-time delegates, young people, refugees, immigrants, working-class people and longtime community members organizing to deliver a huge upset,” he said. “People continue to discount us. But at the end of the day, community prevails. It’s the people who vote, not the dollars you spend.”