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.
Mike Lee Praises Himself
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.”
Mike Lee Asks Mitt Romney for Help
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) publicly begged Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) for an endorsement.
Utah Senate Race Remains Close
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.
Mitt Romney Not Helping Mike Lee in Re-Election Race
“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
McMullin Pledges Not to Caucus with Either Party
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.”
Utah Senate Race Is Close
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 Pledges Not to Caucus with Either Party
“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.
Democrats Back an Independent In Utah
“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.
Mike Lee Runs Well Ahead of His Challengers
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.”
Top Trump Ally Gears Up to Challenge Romney
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R), who backed Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, is preparing for a 2024 Senate run that could pit him against Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in a GOP primary, Politico reports.
Romney’s response: “Were I to run again, the best news I could get would be that Sean Reyes was my opponent.”
Worst Campaign Ever?
“I’m a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Utah to #UnseatMikeLee. I have 55,800 followers. Can we hit 65k followers?”
— Austin Searle (D), virtually campaigning on March 7, 2022.
“I have ended my run for U.S. Senate but any followers I gain is much appreciated. I did not realize that the deadline had passed to file papers with the state.”
— Searle, the next day.
Romney Won’t Endorse In Utah Senate Race
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said that he’s likely to stay neutral in Utah’s U.S. Senate race, declining to endorse either Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) or Evan McMullin (I), Politico reports.
Said Romney: “I don’t get involved in primaries and I don’t endorse. I just stay out of them, particularly between two friends.”
An Unusual Coalition Forms to Oust Mike Lee
Establishment Republicans in Utah are frustrated with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and quietly plotting to oust him, The Atlantic reports.
“First elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, Lee has long rankled the local establishment in Utah, where he is viewed by many as a showboating obstructionist whose penchant for provocation routinely embarrasses his home state and its predominant religion. Lee’s MAGA makeover during the Trump presidency served only to exacerbate that perception. Now, as he prepares to run for reelection next year, Lee is bracing for a concerted, multifront campaign to unseat him. He seems to know that a third term isn’t guaranteed.”
Evan McMullin Will Challenge Mike Lee for Senate
Evan McMullin, who won more than 21% of the Utahns’ votes for president in 2016, will challenge Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as an independent candidate for Utah’s Senate seat next year, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Mike Lee Holds Commanding Lead Over GOP Challengers
A new OH Predictive Insights poll in Utah finds found Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) leading the Republican Senate primary with 45%, followed by Becky Edwards (R) at 3%, Brendan Wright (R) at 3% and Ally Isom (R) at 2%.
However, another 48% of likely GOP primary voters remain undecided.
GOP Women Try to Oust Mike Lee
“Utah has never elected a woman to the U.S. Senate,” the Deseret News reports.
“So far, two women have stepped up to challenge two-term Sen. Mike Lee for the Republican nomination next year. Ally Isom, a longtime communications, public policy and political strategist, filed her candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. Former state lawmaker Becky Edwards filed in May.”
Said Isom: “I watched our Capitol under attack on Jan. 6 and I just thought I want my country back. I want my party back. This isn’t who we are.”
Mike Lee Defends Romney’s Vote to Convict Trump
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is defending Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Although Lee disagrees with Romney’s conclusion, he does not see it as a “cause for alarm,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Said Lee: “Although Senator Romney and I usually vote together — and with a majority of Senate Republicans, we voted differently. It shows neither one of us blindly defers to anyone.”