OREM — Christian Burridge was working late one night at his private legal practice when the e-mail came.

It was a plea from the Utah Democratic Party for a candidate to run against Chris Cannon in Utah's 3rd Congressional District. Even though it was a mass message sent out to all the state's Democrats, it resonated with Burridge as though personally addressed to him.

"So, I sat there and thought about the fact that I saw my clients' lives every day, how they were getting more and more debt, and less means to pay for their debt, and I sat there and thought about the fact that our country has spending habits like a lot of my clients: borrowing, not coming up with a reasonable plan to pay it off, and basically passing debts onto my kids and grandkids," Burridge said. "I sat there and thought about it and I thought, 'If I don't give the people of Utah an alternative, who will?'"

He discussed the idea of running for office with his wife, Marissa, expecting a resounding no. He was surprised, however, when she heard him out and then said, "You have to do this."

Burridge organized a meeting with party officials, whom he didn't know at the time, then brought his family and presented himself as their guy.

"I fit the profile of a Democrat that can win in the 3rd District, and I knew that," Burridge said. "I had to just tell them the facts. When I told them the facts, their eyes got all big, and their reaction was 'You've got to do this.'"

Utah Democratic Party chairman Wayne Holland said the party had been considering another candidate, who had more experience, but after peppering Burridge with just a few questions, they were sold.

"Within 10 minutes, I knew he was the guy," Holland said. "He's bright, articulate and energetic ... he's a very intriguing candidate for the kind of race we want to run."

But it wasn't quite that simple — running for election would mean seriously cutting back work at his consumer rights advocacy law firm in West Jordan, which he started from the ground up three years ago as a fresh BYU graduate and has since built into a successful business.

He had two days to think it over, as the candidates for the state's other federal offices had already been chosen and would be announcing their candidacy at a media event that Burridge wouldn't be able to afford to miss if he ran.

Personal experience

Burridge had already shaped his strong democratic ideals by the time he opened the doors of his practice. But in the years since, working with clients as they went through bankruptcy and other difficult financial situations, he has shaped a strong distaste for the present administration and its politics.