Situational Analysis | April 18, 2022

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Mike Lee was in the news all weekend for his many texts to Mark Meadows about the 2022 election results, first reported by CNN. “Please give me something to work with. I just need to know what I should be saying,” Lee texted Meadows in late November 2020. He pushed for Trump to use Sydney Powell, an attorney and conspiracy theorist, because she had "a strategy to keep things alive." He later backed away from Powell and turned toward John Eastman who claimed that Mike Pence could hand the election to Trump because 7 states had submitted alternate slates of electors. You can read the texts here. Lee's office told CNN that he had been "fully transparent" about his involvement and told the Deseret News that the text messages "tell the story of a U.S. senator fulfilling his duty to Utah and the American people by following the Constitution.” His opponents feel otherwise.

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Statement from Becky Edwards on Mike Lee’s efforts to help overturn the 2020 election

“Sen. Mike Lee researched overturning a lawful, democratic election for partisan and political gain. The moment Mike Lee realized the gravity of Trump’s attempts to undermine the 2020 election, he should have stopped researching the legality of such actions and stopped pressuring local legislators. Lee has an obligation to protect and defend our Constitution and democratic process, as he swore to do when he took office. Instead, he allowed the situation to continue and enabled those seeking to keep themselves in power, no matter the consequences.”

Statement from Ally Isom on Mike Lee’s efforts to help overturn the 2020 election

“When a sitting US senator asks what he should say, he is freely admitting he is more concerned with playing DC games–with the politics of politics–rather than the people of Utah. Utah wants someone to fight for our state–someone who refuses to be just another chess piece the Washington, DC, apparatus can push around.

This is exactly why I am running and committed to two terms. I am a classic conservative. I will be solely accountable to the people of Utah, not the machines of Washington. When you stay too long, Washington becomes corrosive, corrupt and dishonest. You start worrying too much about what the wrong people think. Career politicians say anything to stay even longer. As he campaigns for a third term, Mike Lee is no longer a credible voice to represent Utah.”

Statement from Evan McMullin on Mike Lee’s efforts to overturn 2020 election

Sen. Mike Lee suggested “alternative slates of delegates” from “a very small handful of states” to overturn election. On Friday, a CNN Exclusive revealed Sen. Mike Lee was significantly more involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election than he initially claimed to be.

New text messages reveal Lee pursued suspect and controversial arguments in order to potentially stop the certification of electors prior to Jan. 6. Following a press conference in which former President Donald Trump’s lawyers claimed widespread fraud, Lee asked then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, “Please tell me what I should be saying.” Lee then suggested the idea of sending fake electors from “a very small handful of states,” and then two days before Jan. 6, said he’d been working on efforts to help Trump remain in power as much as “14 hours a day.” (Read More)

United Utah Party nominates own candidates and votes on endorsement of Evan McMullin

The Utah Party held its state nominating convention this Saturday. “This is the third time we’re fielding candidates in regular elections, and we’re excited to have such a solid slate. The opportunity to also vote on endorsing Evan McMullin only added to that excitement,” said Hillary Stirling, chair of the United Utah Party.

“Evan is a long-time friend of the party, and many of his values and goals align with our own, but ultimately, the decision was one for the delegates,” Stirling added. The UUP’s executive committee had earlier recommended endorsement, but party bylaws require the decision be put to the convention delegates as a whole. “In an era of such division, it was encouraging to see how the question of endorsement played out. Even when delegates had concerns, the feedback I heard was both respectful and thoughtful,” Stirling said. Convention delegates voted overwhelmingly for endorsement, with 93% in favor and 7% against. Nine UUP candidates were nominated at convention, while another fifteen UUP candidates had previously been nominated in their county conventions, for a total of 24 UUP candidates on the ballot this November. (Read More)

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