In an extraordinary move, Utah Democrats backed the Senate bid of independent candidate Evan McMullin over Democrat Kael Weston against Republican incumbent Mike Lee.
McMullin is best remembered for his independent White House bid in 2016 earning a respectable 21% of the vote in Utah though not enough to prevent Donald Trump from carrying the state.
I suspect that the impetus for this decision has come amid recent revelations of Senator Lee's efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election in favor of Donald Trump via text messages with then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Although Lee would later vote to certify the election, his actions undermine his credibility as a "constitutional conservative".
Let us keep in mind that 2022 is going to probably be a bad year for Democrats. Let us further keep in mind that Utah hasn't elected a Democrat to the United States Senate since 1970. That year Frank Moss was re-elected to a third term. But Moss would lose six years later to one Orrin Hatch who would become the longest serving Republican Senator in U.S history before retiring in 2020 in favor of Mitt Romney. (BTW, Hatch just passed away tonight at the age of 88. R.I.P.).
The odds are still against McMullin. Even though Weston wasn't endorsed by Democrats there's a good chance he'll stay on the ballot and split the vote sufficiently for Lee to win a third term.
But if this gambit does work (and especially if it helps Democrats hold onto the Senate), it could inspire similar strategy by Democrats in other states which have a weak infrastructure to nominate independent candidates especially so long as Republicans continue to regress down the path of authoritarianism.
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