Trump supporter Lou Dobbs calls conservative candidate Evan McMullin a 'Mormon Mafia Tool'

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published 27 October 2016

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.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.