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:
Subscribe to 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.
-
July 9 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include AI in the job market, a book on GOP blowback, and a new line of Barbie doll
-
What is 'career catfishing' and why are Gen Z doing it?Under The Radar Successful job applicants are increasingly disappearing before their first day
-
The countries around the world without jury trialsThe Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partnersSpeed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US borderSpeed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked callSpeed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side dealThe pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policiesSpeed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final daySpeed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
