Polls in Utah are closing soon, and this year’s Senate race is the most competitive the state has seen in decades, according to local NPR affiliate KUER. There is no Democrat involved. Instead, the race pits Republican incumbent Mike Lee against independent candidate Evan McMullin, a former CIA operative and GOP staffer. McMullin and Lee … well, they share a lot of positions. This is a conservative vs. conservative face-off. So why has it become the most expensive race in the state’s history, with McMullin supported by Democratic PACs and literally Luke Skywalker?
It’s largely because Lee was involved with Trump’s plans to overturn the 2020 election. Lee’s campaign has focused on how he did, eventually, accept the results of the election. McMullin’s has focused on the text messages that showed Lee working with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to brainstorm legal strategies to overturning those results in the weeks after the election. Lee is clearly favored to beat McMullin in this race.