CHICAGO (AP) — Miguel Vargas hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning, Sean Burke struck out six in 6 1/3 innings, and the Chicago White Sox claimed sole possession of first place in the AL Central on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
Burke (5-4) allowed one run on six hits and one walk to outduel Guardians starter Parker Messick. Sean Newcomb threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for his second save.
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Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio breaks his bat as he pops out to Chicago White Sox shortstop Luisangel Acuña during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago White Sox catcher Drew Romo, left, talks with starting pitcher Sean Burke during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Sean Burke throws against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago White Sox's Miguel Vargas celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The White Sox are 22-4 in their last 26 home games, 11-1 against the AL Central at home and have won nine straight home series after beating the Guardians 6-5 on Monday. Their 16 one-run wins are the most in the majors.
Messick (7-4) struck out a career-high 10 in 7 2/3 innings, walking one and allowing two runs on only three hits.
Colson Montgomery singled home Randal Grichuk in the fourth after Grichuk doubled, the first hit off Messick.
Guardians rookie Kahlil Watson hit his first career home run off Burke in the fifth, 373 feet to right field to make it 1-1, a week after making his MLB debut. The Guardians loaded the bases with two outs in the inning but Burke induced Brayan Rocchio to pop out.
Vargas put the White Sox in the lead for good to lead off the sixth, hitting Messick's slider 376 feet into the bullpen in left field. It was his career-best 17th home run of the season.
Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (2-8, 4.03 ERA) closes out the three-game series Wednesday against White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (2-6, 4.46).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Cleveland Guardians' Brayan Rocchio breaks his bat as he pops out to Chicago White Sox shortstop Luisangel Acuña during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago White Sox catcher Drew Romo, left, talks with starting pitcher Sean Burke during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Sean Burke throws against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Parker Messick throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago White Sox's Miguel Vargas celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Chicago, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ben McAdams, a former Utah congressman who has sought to shed his reputation as a moderate, won the Democratic primary Tuesday in a redrawn U.S. House district that Democrats are strongly favored to win this fall.
His victory over three progressive candidates disappointed voters who wanted to push the Democratic Party further to the left in a race that illustrated the ideological clash playing out in Democratic primaries across the country this year. His opponents included a state senator and a former employee of TikTok and Meta who had insisted McAdams is too conservative to represent a left-leaning district. Some had urged other candidates to drop out of the primary to give a progressive a greater chance of winning.
The Salt Lake City area's 1st Congressional District is among the few anticipated Democratic pickups following a national redistricting fight started by President Donald Trump to try to help Republicans maintain their majority in the U.S. House. Democrats need to gain only a few seats in November to take control of the narrowly divided chamber.
McAdams is strongly favored to defeat Republican Riley Owen, an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve who was chosen during the state GOP’s spring convention. Nevertheless, he appealed to his primary challengers and their supporters to help maintain the party's momentum.
“The energy and the passion your campaigns brought to this race is exactly what we need headed into November,” McAdams said after his win.
The other three of Utah's four congressional seats are considered safely Republican. That includes the 3rd District, where Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy fended off a challenge from further right.
Candidates in the new district tried to outflank one another on the left, marking a departure from decades of Democrats trying to appeal to Utah's mostly conservative electorate.
During his 2018 campaign, McAdams pitched himself as a moderate when he ousted a GOP incumbent in the midterms of Trump’s first term. He also described himself at the time as having anti-abortion views, but said the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctors, family and faith counselors. This year, as he campaigned in a much more Democratic district, McAdams pledged his support for abortion rights and insisted that he’s only “moderate in tone.”
State Democrats held an open primary, meaning anyone in the district could vote, regardless of party affiliation.
After his primary win, McAdams outlined his previous work in Congress to expand healthcare, invest in public lands and secure protections for LGBTQ+ communities. But he said his defining vote was to impeach Trump, which was met with loud applause from his supporters.
“I would do it again,” he said. “Character matters, courage matters and right now talk is cheap. Utahns deserve someone who has already shown the courage to stand up and speak with conviction when the pressure is real.”
A supporter, Donna Gunn, said McAdams' victory is an opportunity to send a fierce ally for LGBTQ+ rights back to Washington. While she was dejected after the 2024 presidential race, she said Tuesday's primary outcome restored her hope.
“We are so happy and so lucky to get Ben, who’s going to stand up to that bully in the White House,” she said.
Among McAdams' opponents was state Sen. Nate Blouin, a progressive firebrand in the Republican-controlled Legislature who had hoped to bounce back from a social media controversy. Blouin apologized in April for several posts he made on internet forums between 2009 and 2015 that denigrated women and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah-based faith known widely as the Mormon church.
Blouin tried to energize an electorate he said has grown accustomed to settling for someone who will “play nice” with Republicans. He racked up endorsements from some of the country’s most prominent progressives, including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Greg Casar and Maxwell Frost.
On Tuesday night, he looked ahead and issued a statement saying his campaign, while falling short, marked “the beginning of a new era of organizing” in the state.
“The progressive movement in Utah still has a long way to go, but we’ve helped forge the path forward, and we’ll keep organizing for a better Utah where public lands are protected, ICE is abolished, and reproductive freedom is secure,” he said.
Two other progressive candidates, both political newcomers, Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell, also vied for the seat.
Mohamed, a former Meta and TikTok employee, was a breakout star at the state’s Democratic convention earlier this year, where he emerged victorious after five rounds of ranked choice voting to earn the party’s backing in the primary over McAdams. He was backed by other prominent progressives, including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.
While progressive voters had a wealth of candidates from which to choose, some said the field was too big and ended up splitting their support too many ways.
“It definitely was a heartbreaking feeling,” said Alex Minero, a Blouin supporter. “I still think having a Democrat in Congress is a win. It’s still better than nothing, but Nate Blouin would’ve done a much better job than Ben McAdams.”
Utah's new congressional map also left Maloy vulnerable to a primary challenge from a candidate who is further to the right. But she handily defeated former state lawmaker Phil Lyman, who embraced false claims of fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
The district, spanning most of southern and eastern Utah, emerged last fall from a legal battle over the state’s previous congressional map, dramatically altering its makeup.
Maloy was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2023 and was reelected to a full term in 2024. She worked previously as a soil conservationist and an attorney with a focus on public lands and water policy.
After her primary win, she issued a statement saying her campaign was focused on promoting “the conservative results” she had produced for her constituents.
She will face Democratic nominee Kent Udell, an engineer, in the November general election. Maloy is heavily favored to win in the deep red 3rd District.
Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Denver contributed to this report.
Nate Blouin watches the results roll in with his wife, Jackie Rosen, at his primary election watch party at Kiitos Brewing in Salt Lake City, Utah on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks between family members James, Isaac and Julie during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks between family members Isaac, James and Julie during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Utah congressional candidate Nate Blouin, left, speaks to Brian King, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party, at an Election Night watch party at Kiitos Brewing in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks to a crowd during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Vote Here signs are posted outside the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
A Utah voter places a ballot in a drop box outside the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
A sign hangs at a voting center during Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
FILE - Liban Mohamed, the son of Somali immigrants and a former Meta and TikTok employee, speaks on a panel of candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
FILE - Utah state Sen. Nate Blouin, left, and tax attorney Michael Farrell speak on a panel of candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
FILE - Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams speaks at a forum for candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
