[7][8] Prior to his political career, Ainge worked in private equity and law with national firms HGGC and Kirkland & Ellis and studied Mandarin while living in China.

[9] In 2017, a special election was held in the 3rd Congressional District of Utah for the U.S. House of Representatives to replace Jason Chaffetz, who resigned on June 30, 2017.

[12] Ainge received a quarter of the Republican primary votes, but placed third against Provo mayor John Curtis and Christopher Herrod.

[14][15] In 2018, Utah commissioner Greg Graves was called to resign for sexual harassment allegations, but completed his term under tenuous circumstances.

[18] In light of the Graves controversies, Ainge said he would run a campaign focused on restoring ethics and transparency to the county commission.