Utah Dems nominate no one to challenge Mike Lee, pinning hopes on independent Evan McMullin


Utah Democrats declined to nominate a candidate for U.S. Senate at their nominating convention on Saturday in order to give independent Evan McMullin a better chance at defeating Sen. Mike Lee (R), ABC News reports.
Democrat Kael Weston sought the party's nomination but will not appear on the ballot after being out-voted by the pro-McMullin faction at the convention. The motion to back McMullin by not endorsing a Democrat received 782 votes to Weston's 594.
After the vote, Weston said he wants Utah to have a "healthy political marketplace, and that's not going to be possible if we don't have Democrats on the ballot," Deseret News reported.
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.
Utah has not elected a Democratic senator in over 50 years.
McMullin, a center-right former CIA officer, ran for president in 2016 as a "Never Trump" candidate, receiving over 20 percent of the popular vote in Utah. Lee voted for McMullin in 2016 but supported Trump in 2020.
McMullin praised Utah Democrats for putting "country over party" and said he aims to build a coalition of "Democrats, independents, [and] principled Republicans."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Flying into danger
Feature America's air traffic control system is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
-
Pocket change: The demise of the penny
Feature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
Time's up: The Democratic gerontocracy
Feature The Democratic party is losing key seats as they refuse to retire aging leaders
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'