The Independent Senator

First, you might have heard about Mike Lee in the news as one of the Senators who colluded with Donald Trump to overturn the election on January 6th  by text messaging chief of staff Mark Meadows.  Mike Lee is that kind of Republican, a two-term incumbent running for his 3rd term who has been endorsed by Trump.

Evan McMullin is a true patriot.  He was a CIA operations officer in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia for 7 years before returning to the States.  He ran for President in 2016 as an Independent because he believed that Donald Trump wasn’t fit for the office.  Many moderates who didn’t like Trump turned to Evan.  He received 734,737 votes nationwide including 21.5% of the vote in his native Utah.  He then co-founded the Renew America Movement to back principled, pro-democracy candidates.

I’ve met with Evan and he’s the genuine article.  He never imagined a career in politics – he first tried to recruit others to run before stepping up to do so himself.  But he’s deeply concerned about the future of the country and is doing all he can to make a positive difference.  Now he’s running against Mike Lee for the same reason.

You would ordinarily think that would make Evan the 3rd candidate in the race.  But the Democratic Party made the nearly unprecedented decision this weekend to get out of the way and let Evan take on Mike Lee unopposed.

Why did they do this?  Utah is a red state - Trump won Utah by 21 percent - so there’s just about zero chance of a Democrat winning.  The Democrat would likely have been more of a spoiler than a true contender.  Evan is a better fit for the state, and has a much better chance to unseat Mike Lee, than a traditional Democrat.

Still, this was a controversial decision for the Democratic Party in Utah, as you can imagine.  There was a candidate, Kael Weston, vying for the Democratic nomination to run against Mike Lee, who obviously opposed the idea.  Some Democrats complained that not having a candidate for their party effectively disenfranchised them.  Others warned that this would split what was left of the Democratic Party in Utah.  The motion to not run a candidate – and essentially back Evan – won by 782 votes to 594, largely because Ben McAdams, a senior Democrat in Utah and former member of Congress, backed and endorsed Evan over running a Democrat who was sure to lose.  They put ‘country over party.’

Evan McMullin’s candidacy is an historic opportunity on several levels.

First, Evan could singlehandedly change the political dynamics in Washington.  Imagine a deadlocked Senate with 49 Dems and 50 Republicans or vice versa.  Evan, as the lone Independent, could literally be the person who sets the agenda.  I said in my book talk, “How many Senators does it take to control things in Washington in a polarized country?  Only One.”  Believe it or not, I had Evan in mind when I said those words.

Second, it could demonstrate that Americans are eager to reward a different approach to our politics.  Instead of staying stuck in our two lanes – with 90% of races foreordained in the general due to uncompetitive districts – we can build new coalitions.  If Democrats can team up with Independents in Utah to unseat a Republican, resulting in a Senator who maybe doesn’t agree with them on everything but will be much more independent and principled, then the same thing could happen in Nevada, Alaska and other states around the country.  People who don’t now have a voice could gain one instead of being locked out.

Third, Evan could show that, yes, Independents can win major races and the duopoly doesn’t control everything.  The single biggest thing holding back third party candidates in this country is the sense that they can’t win.  If Evan wins, he would immediately be a national figure that others would look to as proof Independents can compete and defeat incumbents in high-profile races.  It would be a sea change for third-party politics in our country.

But Evan’s race will not be easy.  Lee has more than $2.1 million in cash reserves and has been endorsed by Trump.  Evan outraised Mike Lee in the first quarter $1 million to $523k so Evan has momentum but he needs our help.  I’ve donated to Evan and I hope that you will too.  You can also volunteer and tell your friends in Utah at https://evanmcmullin.com.  Let’s go all in for Evan.

Can there be a new approach to our politics that leads the right kind of people to Washington?  We are going to find out in Utah in about 6 months.  Let’s show the nation that there’s still hope for good people like Evan to rise up, run for the right reasons, put country over party, and win.