- Find out more about the races below.
- Utah GOP Senator Mike Lee is running to a third term against Evan McMullin.
- Lee has compiled an excellent conservative voting record that would be acceptable in the GOP-heavy State.
- McMullin criticizes Lee’s independency from Donald Trump.
Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee is running against Evan McMullin who is an independent candidate and a former CIA Officer who ran for President as an Independent in 2016.
Utah Senate Candidates
Lee, who defeated Bob Bennett in a Republican convention and won a primary against Tim Bridgewater in 2010, easily won that year’s general election in the GOP-heavy State.
Lee has maintained a conservative record since joining the Senate. RevocationBarack Obama’s Affordable Care Act was signed into law by the then-President in 2015. BackingTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 by then-President Donald Trump
The senator, a former clerk to Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, voted to confirm Trump’s three nominees to the Supreme Court — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Lee was also there floatedTrump could make her a pick for the Supreme Court in 2018.
Lee is a member of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Joint Economic Committee, and Special Committee on Aging.
Back home, however, the political standing of the lawmaker became less certain among some Republicans.
And unlike the rest of the country where the majority of GOP primaries have evolved into, this is not the case. A litmus testLee was asked to measure Trump’s loyalty. criticizedOther Republicans ran against him because of what they called his lack independence from the former President.
The senator You won the GOP primary with 62% of the vote, his two opponents — former state Rep. Becky Edwards and Ally Isom — both captured a sizable 38% of voters.
Many conservative members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were dismayed when Lee compared Trump with a prophet from the Book of Mormon at an Oct 2020 rally.
McMullin, a former Republican who performed strongly in Utah in the 2016 presidential race — winning nearly 22% of the statewide vote as an independent and holding Trump below 50% of the vote — criticized Lee in an AdvertisementTwo years ago, the senator made comments at an Arizona rally in support of the former president.
And the independent candidate, which the state Democratic Party BackedInstead of having to nominate their nominee, has pledged to be a bipartisan bridge builder. Calling outLee for the “no votes” he claims the GOP lawmaker has cast in the Senate.
McMullin has stated that if elected, he will not join the Democratic or Republican Caucuses.
Sen. Mitt Romney — the 2012 GOP presidential nominee who in 2018 was elected to represent Utah in the Senate — has declined to endorse Lee, citing his friendship with both candidates. Romney has often expressed doubts about Trump’s abilities and said that he would not endorse him. He did not voteIn the 2020 presidential election.
Lee has recently however It wasFox News, and appealed directly to Romney for support in the race.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Utah’s voting history
Utah has been known for being a Republican-friendly state since the beginning.
Since 1968, every state presidential election has been won by Republicans. Often, they have won with landslide margins. The last Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state was in 2008. Frank MossIn 1970.
Trump beat Joe Biden, the current-President of Utah, by 20 points in 2020’s presidential election (58%-38%). This is a big drop from Romney’s stunning victory (73%-25%) over Obama.
Democrats Jim Matheson, Ben McAdams and Ben Matheson represented Utah’s Salt Lake City area congressional district over the past 20-years. But Republican-led redistricting in 2020 Census has made the district more friendly for the GOP. (McAdams narrowly LostHis 2020 reelection bid to now Republican Rep. Burgess Owens.
The money race
According to OpenSecretsLee raised almost $10.7 million and spent $9.7million. He also had $1.3 million cash in his bank account as of October 19. McMullin has raised $6.9 Million, spent $5.8 Million, and has nearly $1.1million in the bank as of October 19.
On November 7, super-PACs, politically active non-profit organizations, and other groups not related to the election were merged. Spend an additional $19.2 MillionAdvancing candidates for election, which included the GOP primary. Lee has benefited from the majority of this spending.
What experts have to say
By, the race between McMullin and Lee was rated “likely Republican”. Inside Elections, by “likely Republican”. The Cook Political Report, and “likely Republican”. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at University of Virginia Center for Politics.
