What's Happening in Utah?

 

Sen. Mike Lee with his ventriloquist

You've probably read that Senator Mike Lee of Utah looks to be in trouble. Polls are showing him neck-and-neck with his Independent challenger, Evan McMullan. An article by A.B. Stoddard in The Bulwark explains how that came to be:

Over the last six years, Donald Trump has ruined many Republican political careers. Lee is now scrambling to avoid becoming another of them. The two-term senator knows exactly why his campaign is in trouble and what led to his humiliation on Fox News [i.e., when Lee almost begged Mitt Romney for his endorsement, which Romney has withheld].

Lee isn’t in trouble because of (just) Democratic voters. His re-election is teetering because of Republican voters who are disgusted by his full embrace of Trump—including his attempts to help Trump overturn the 2020 election. These machinations created space for former CIA officer Evan McMullin to run as an independent after convincing the Utah Democratic Party not to put anyone on the ballot this year. McMullin has, improbably, energized a coalition of moderate Republicans, unaffiliated voters, and Democrats behind his candidacy. Mitt Romney has chosen not to endorse either candidate, saying they are both friends.

Maybe we've been too hard on Romney.