Evan McMullin may be a presidential candidate few people have heard of, but he has a real shot at winning Utah's six electoral votes. And if he does that, becoming the first third-party candidate to win a state since 1968 (when George Wallace took five states in the Deep South), the independent conservative McMullin has a very slim chance of becoming the next president. First, "he needs to block Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump from getting 270 electoral votes," explains ABC News' Shushannah Walshe. "At that point, the election would be tossed to the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority would have to pick Evan McMullin over Donald Trump."
Since Trump, as the Republican candidate, is supposed to win Utah, and since he has a much narrower path to 270 electoral votes, McMullin's surge affects him more than Clinton. Which might help explain this tweet from Lou Dobbs, Fox Business host and Donald Trump supporter:
McMullin, like Mitt Romney, is a Mormon, and he does draw much of his support from conservative Mormons who cannot bring themselves to vote for Trump, and he was also an investment banker. But "Mormon Mafia Tool" isn't a good look for Dobbs — or anyone — especially if you want your candidate to win Utah.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
