81 days to the 2019 Utah Legislature. Your Wednesday morning political speed-read from UtahPolicy.com

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Situational awareness - November 8, 2018

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City.

House and Senate Republicans meet tonight to choose new leadership. There's not much drama, as Sen. Stuart Adams and Rep. Brad Wilson are running unopposed for Senate President and House Speaker. In case you missed it, our rundown of the candidates for leadership races is here - http://bit.ly/2zuJxLY

Notable - Mitt Romney wasted little time after his election to the U.S. Senate to start using his fundraising prowess in Washington. He set up a PAC and joint fundraising committee The PAC is named "Believe in America PAC" while the JFC is called "Team Mitt" (via Politico Playbook) - https://politi.co/2Qbn0ew

Executive summary - Medical marijuana special session coming on December 3. McAdams widens his lead over Love slightly. If current trends hold, McAdams is positioned to eke out a victory over Love. Trump fires Sessions.

  TICK TOCK   

12 days until the final election results are certified by the county clerks (11/20/2018)
18 days until federal and multi-county races are certified by the State Board of Canvassers (11/26/2018)
81 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
127 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)
208 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019)
212 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019)
279 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)
363 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)
453 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)
727 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

Hughes anticipates special session on medical marijuana December 3
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah lawmakers anticipate a special session on the compromise medical marijuana legislation to take place on December 3....Love or McAdams? Projection suggests McAdams could win in a squeaker
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
The entire state is on pins and needles waiting for the outstanding ballots in the Mia Love/Ben McAdams race to be counted. If current trends hold, McAdams could eke out a razor-thin victory according to projections provided to UtahPolicy.com....Election update: McAdams' lead grows slightly, but there are lots of ballots left to be counted.
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams increased his lead over incumbent Republican Mia Love slightly on Wednesday....Federal grant to support deep technology entrepreneurs in southern Utah
By Brian Somers, USTAR Managing Director
Dixie State University and Southern Utah University recently received a $1.43 million grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to promote entrepreneurship and economic growth in Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washi...Emergency podcast: Post-election special
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
The 2018 midterms are over. ...

  OTHER UTAH HEADLINES   

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: What do we do with the final words of Utah's mayor hero?

Op-ed: Voting should not be a burden

Utah voters reject nonbinding question for gas tax hike to help fund education

Local ballot questions: Salt Lake City $87M bond wins early approval

Residents vote for a new old town: Brighton

Trump says Mia Love already lost race because she 'gave me no love ... too bad'

After Proposition 2 vote, those unhappy with expected medical marijuana compromise bill vow to push Utah lawmakers hard

'Overwhelmed with love': North Ogden mourns loss of Maj. Brent Taylor

Election night: Why Utah's cybersecurity team was on high alert

Democratic presence grows in Utah Legislature

Utah governor slams county as 'epicenter of dysfunction' for long election night lines

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Thanks to everyone for our democracy

Utah schools don't always report teacher misconduct - and that could allow some educators to harm students again, audit says

Foundation behind MormonLeaks urges Utah lawmakers to remove 'clergy exemption' from child abuse reporting laws

'Love gave me no love': President Trump slams Utah Rep. Mia Love in post-election news conference, says she lost

Ben McAdams widens his lead over Mia Love slightly, and Proposition 4 inches up its precarious lead

Trump fired Sessions, and in response Utah's Sen.-elect Mitt Romney defended Mueller's investigation

Other

McAdams maintains narrow lead over Love as Salt Lake County releases more results (Daily Herald)

Weber County Dems on track to win first Utah House seat in a decade (Standard-Examiner)

Officials: Cache County saw high voter turnout this election (Logan Herald Journal)

  NATIONAL HEADLINES  

Breaking overnight: A gunman killed 12 people in a mass shooting at a Los Angeles-area bar packed with college students - https://lat.ms/2FazfGS

Wednesday's headlines:

President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, replacing him with a loyalist who has been a critic of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Russian attack on the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia - https://nyti.ms/2FbcBhM 
Matthew Whittaker, the acting Attorney General, has repeatedly argued that Mueller's investigation has gone too far. Whittaker now has direct oversight of Mueller's probe - https://cnn.it/2FdrWyt 
Whittaker sat on the board of a Miami-based invention-marketing company that was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission for being a scam - http://bit.ly/2F8mL2M
The White House pulled the credentials of CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta on Wednesday after he had a testy exchange with President Trump during a press conference. Trump called him a "rude, terrible person" when Acosta would not relinquish the microphone while asking a question of Trump - https://cnn.it/2FkMGEa
The White House claimed Acosta placed his hands on a young woman trying to take the microphone away from Acosta and tweeted out a clearly doctored video to support their claim. All other available evidence and multiple members of the media suggest the White House is fabricating that claims - http://bit.ly/2Fc15mg 
President Trump said on Wednesday he would adopt a "warlike posture" if the new Democratic majority in the House tried to investigate him - https://nyti.ms/2F9iKen 
Worth the read: Here's a great tick-tock of how the Democrats won the majority in the House on Tuesday night - https://nyti.ms/2FaACp0 
Democratic candidates who helped the party retake the House on Tuesday did so by outperforming Hillary Clinton and winning 28 districts that President Trump won in 2016 - http://bit.ly/2FcACFg
Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate Tuesday, which will likely embolden social conservatives to push for more restrictions on abortion and move the party to the right on cultural issues - https://nyti.ms/2FbELcx
Over 36 million people watched coverage of the midterm elections on Tuesday - http://bit.ly/2FbTlAz
Now that the 2018 midterms are over, it's decision time for the Democrats mulling a 2020 presidential bid - https://politi.co/2FkrgaC
Boring but important: President Trump's tariffs on China don't seem to be working very well. China's exports are up 16% over last year - https://cnn.it/2Fanyjv 
Canada is running low on legal marijuana just one week after the country approved recreational use - https://nyti.ms/2FdtfgR

  ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY  

1519 - Explorer Hernan Cortez enters Tenochtitlan and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with a great celebration.
1837 - Mary Lyons founds Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which later becomes Mount Holyoke College.
1889 - Montana is admitted as the 41st state.
1895 - Physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays.
1923 - Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government.
1933 - President Franklin Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed.
1973 - The right ear of John Paul Getty III, who had been kidnapped four months earlier, was delivered along, with a ransom note, to a daily newspaper. The ransom was later paid, with Getty III found alive at a gas station in southern Italy.
1994 - Republican candidates swept the midterm elections, regaining control of both chambers of Congress. It marked the first time in 40 years the Republicans controlled both the House and Senate.

Policy News

GOED board approves new convention center hotel incentive
The Governor's Office of Economic Development approved the New Convention Facility Development Incentive to build a new convention center hotel in downtown Salt Lake City....LendingClub to expand in Utah
The Governor's Office of Economic Development announced LendingClub Corporation will expand in Utah adding up to 860 jobs, $22 million in new state revenue and an estimated $17.85 million in capital investment over the next 10 years....Robert Grow of Envision Utah recognized with national award
Robert Grow, CEO of Envision Utah, will receive the national "Leader for a Livable, Equitable and Sustainable America" award, presented by Partners for Livable Communities (Partners), a Washington-based nonprofit. ...Utah's my529 receives Morningstar's highest rating for 8th consecutive year
The ratings are in. Once again, Utah's my529 ranks among the top 529 educational savings plans in the nation....

More National Headlines

'Pretty ballsy': How McConnell and Trump blew away Senate Democrats (Politico)

Republicans' midterms secret weapon? Brett Kavanaugh. (CNN)

White House yanks press pass of CNN's Jim Acosta (Washington Examiner)

First Native American women elected to Congress: Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland (CNN)

Gavin Newsom 'loves' Sacramento, but maybe not enough to live there (Sacramento Bee)

NJ Voters Vent After Menendez Re-Elected: 'I Can't Get Out of This State Fast Enough' (FOX News)

Blackburn wins in Tennessee Senate race as 'Taylor Swift effect' comes up short (FOX News)

Donald Trump just seized control of the Russia probe (CNN)

Who Won the Georgia Governor's Race? Abrams Has Perilous Paths to Runoff Against Kemp (Fortune)

Celebs react to Ted Cruz defeating Beto O'Rourke in Texas Senate race: 'Now he can run for President' (FOX News)

Dow surges nearly 550 points because investors like divided government (CNN)

Wise Words

Honesty

"Honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure." James Altucher

 

Lighter Side

Toys 'R' Us

"I read that Toys 'R' Us may be relaunching as a new store called Geoffrey's Toy Box. I guess executives were like, 'How can we make ourselves sound more like a male strip club?'" - JIMMY FALLON

 

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