“Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) has drawn a Republican primary challenger who launched his campaign by criticizing the first-term senator for having supported bipartisan spending deals, voting to convict President Donald Trump in his two impeachment trials and voting to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trent Staggs, the mayor of Riverton, Utah, a municipality of about 45,000 people near Salt Lake City, kicked off his bid Tuesday with a video in which he also highlighted Romney’s former residency in Massachusetts — where he served as governor from 2003 to 2007 — and accused Romney of breaking promises made in his 2018 Senate campaign.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) “quietly took the first step toward a reelection bid this week by filing a declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

“While the move is not a definitive indicator that Romney plans to run for another U.S. Senate term in 2024, it’s the strongest hint yet about his intentions.”

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) is leaving the door open to challenging Mitt Romney (R) in 2024 as the Utah senator mulls his own reelection plans, the Washington Examiner reports.

Associated Press: “After four years in Washington, Republican Mitt Romney has established himself as a rare senator willing to publicly rebuke members of his own party.”

“But the Utah senator’s outspoken stances, along with his willingness to work with Democrats, have angered some Republicans in the deep-red state he represents and led them to cast about for someone to try to dethrone him a primary race next year.”

“The 75-year-old said that he hasn’t made a decision on whether to run for reelection in 2024 and doesn’t expect to until the start of summer.”

Associated Press: “The race has been inundated with outside spending, with super PACs unaffiliated with either the Lee or McMullin campaign spending heavily on glossy mailers and attack ads on the local affiliates of the four major television networks in the lead-up to the midterm elections.”

“The amount of money pouring into the race reflects how McMullin has turned Utah from a political afterthought to a legitimate battleground. The outside spending supporting him also illustrates the traditional partisan dynamics at play in the independent-versus-Republican race and the emerging reality that some Democratic Party-aligned groups and donors see McMullin — an anti-abortion conservative — as one path toward preventing Republicans from controlling the Senate.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) “has turned down an opportunity to participate in a nationally televised, Fox News-hosted debate with independent challenger Evan McMullin,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

“While Lee has made several individual Fox News appearances over the past several weeks to drum up support for his unexpectedly close reelection bid and to attack his opponent, the senator declined the opportunity to appear on the national program alongside his competition.”

“At a Utah debate on Monday night, independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin forcefully criticized Republican incumbent Sen. Mike Lee for Lee’s efforts, prior to January 6, 2021, to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory,” CNN reports.

“Lee’s response was to rewrite history.”

“Lee tried, as he did earlier this year, to downplay his actions. But his own text messages contradict his debate narrative – providing clear evidence that he did far more to try to reverse Biden’s win than he now claims.”

“Fending off attacks from his independent challenger, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah worked to distinguish himself from former President Donald Trump in a contentious debate Monday evening,” the AP reports.

Said Lee: “I stood against my party time and time again to oppose reckless spending. I will do it again and again and again. We need people who say no.”

New York Times: “No race in the country has spotlighted the events after the 2020 election quite so much as the Senate contest in Utah.”

At one point, Lee attacked McMullin for voting for Joe Biden in 2020. But McMullin deflected noting that Lee actually voted for McMullin for president in 2016.

A new OH Predictive Insights poll in Utah finds Sen. Mike Lee (R) leading challenger Evan McMullin (I) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 32% with 16% undecided. 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote an odd op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune praising his record in the third person.

“Senator Lee has remained committed to advocating for limited government and fiscal responsibility throughout his career. His work is motivated by a deep reverence for our nation and the values that make it great.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) publicly begged Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) for an endorsement.

A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found 41% of Utahns would vote for Sen. Mike Lee and 37% would vote for challenger Evan McMullin (I) if the election were held today.

Independent American candidate Tommy Williams picked up 2% and Libertarian James Arthur Hansen got 1%. Another 12% don’t know who they would vote for, while 5% would mark the ballot for someone else.

“Republican senators are growing concerned by colleague Mitt Romney’s refusal to help fellow Utah Republican Mike Lee decisively win his re-election campaign — a posture that could potentially keep their party from gaining a majority in the November elections,” The Federalist reports.

“Unlike every other Republican senator, the 2012 failed Republican presidential candidate is declining to express a preference in Republican Lee’s re-election effort against Democrat-endorsed Evan McMullin.”

For members: Utah Could Be a Model for Independent Candidates

Utah U.S. Senate hopeful Evan McMullin (I) told NBC News that he would remain untethered to either political party, insisting he wouldn’t caucus with Republicans or Democrats if he wins.

Said McMullin: “I need to maintain my independence in order to represent this coalition I’m building — I’ve asked the Democrats to join me, I’ve asked Romney Republicans to join me, independents, the United Utah Party, and they are, they’re joining this coalition.”

He added: “There also are those in the Senate who, I think, are dangerously extreme, Sen. Lee is one of them, and others who have contributed to a weakening of this institution of Congress, and the Senate and of our democracy.”

A new Deseret News-Hinckley Institute poll in Utah finds Mike Lee (R) leading Evan McMullin (I) in the U.S. Senate race, 41% to 37% with 19% still undecided.

Utah Democrats took the unusual step of backing McMullin, rather than fielding their own candidate.

“Evan McMullin’s U.S. Senate campaign spokesperson on Monday reiterated that if he were to become elected the independent candidate vying for incumbent Mike Lee’s seat would not caucus with the Republican or Democratic parties,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

“Utah Democrats have taken the unusual step of endorsing independent candidate Evan McMullin in his race against Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who has faced questions about his furious efforts to overturn the 2020 election to keep former president Donald Trump in power,” the Washington Post reports.

A new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey in Utah finds Sen. Mike Lee (R) leading his re-election race with 43%, followed by Evan McMullin (I) at 19% and Kael Weston (D) at 11%.

However, there are still 24% of voters undecided.

Said pollster Jason Perry: “The big unknown is what will happen with the independent candidate and where Democrats will fall on their candidate. That is the big question that we’ll be watching.”