The Utah Democratic Party has decided to back the independent candidacy of former presidential candidate Evan McMullin over Democrat Kael Weston in a bid to unseat two-term Republican Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) later this year.
Democrats have long struggled to attract even 30 percent of the vote in the deep-red state. In 2016, Lee raked in 68.2 percent of the vote to Democrat Misty Snow’s 27.1 percent. During that year’s presidential election, Hillary Clinton received only 27.5 percent of the vote.
While Republican candidate Donald Trump in 2016 took the state with 45.5 percent of the vote, the conservative independent McMullin, a former CIA agent and Utah local, grabbed 21.5 percent.
Now, Democrats in the state are hoping to use the candidate to challenge Lee in an election cycle that otherwise would have been a smooth ride to victory for the GOP.
On April 23, during a party convention, Utah Democrats took the unusual step of not backing a nominee at all in a 57 percent to 43 percent vote, instead turning to McMullin in the hope of solidifying behind a more popular candidate.
Weston was shut out, despite campaigning to win the endorsement, after some party activists decided McMullin provided a better opportunity.
“I ask for your support, I want to represent you, I’m committed to that, I will maintain my independence, and we will show the rest of the country how we defeat people like Mike Lee who try to overturn our democracy in the shadows.”
Following the endorsement, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who spawned a cult following during the 2020 Democratic primary season, applauded the endorsement as a potentially game-changing move.
“Salutations to Utah Democrats who placed pragmatism ahead of politics and threw their support behind the independent Senate candidacy of @EvanMcMullin,” Phillips wrote. “Evan is a man of principle and integrity at a time we need more of both in the United States Congress.”
In another tweet, Ben McAdams, a former member of Congress, mayor of Salt Lake County, and Utah state senator, also applauded the decision.
“Today, Utah Democrats voted to join Evan McMullin’s independent coalition and NOT nominate a candidate for U.S. Senate,” McAdams said. “I’m proud to be part of this coalition. Together we can win this race and defeat Mike Lee.”
Though Republicans may be poised to retake the majority in the House in November, control of the Senate—which is currently split 50–50 by party, with the vice president’s vote as a tie-breaker—rests on either party gaining one seat without losing one of their own.
The GOP-electioneering and fundraising National Republican Senatorial Committee told The Epoch Times that it currently considers five Senate Democrats vulnerable.
Meanwhile, some Republican seats are also seen as at risk, particularly in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, where Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has announced that he won’t seek reelection, and in Wisconsin, where Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has been criticized by Democrats for his past statements about the 2020 election and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
In this makeup where every single seat counts, McMullin may pose a greater risk to Lee’s reelection bid than any Democrat could hope to, and it’s not clear how this unusual decision by Democrats will change the dynamics of the national battle for the Senate.
Lee’s office couldn’t be reached for comment by press time.
