For some individuals in Utah who identify as left-leaning politically, McMullin’s candidacy has been difficult to accept. However, McMullin has committed himself to protecting voting rights and ending gerrymandering. Incumbent Senator Mike Lee’s part in the events of January 6th cannot be forgotten. It is obvious that Senator Lee is willing to support illegal and authoritarian tactics as long as he believes it will benefit his side. For centrist Utahns, McMullin is an ideal candidate. Utahns would have a senator who could make decisions based on pragmatism and who is more concerned with governing than grandstanding and winning culture wars, a true rarity in modern America and a stark contrast with Senator Lee.

But why should right wing Utahns abandon Lee’s candidacy? Since the rise of former President Donald Trump, much of the Republican Party has been increasingly corrupted by authoritarianism and populism. Senator Lee is a paragon of this type of morally bankrupt politics. Mr. Lee has always staked his reputation on strict adherence to the constitution and in 2016 urged Mr. Trump to resign the party nomination following his vulgar comments about sexually assaulting women. Yet in the four years that followed, the senator became a sycophant of the former president and aided him in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Utah has demonstrated a near unrivaled ability to remain committed to true conservative values while avoiding the demagoguery of Trump and Lee. By electing a fiscal conservative and supporter of democracy like Mr. McMullin, Utahns would send an unmistakable signal to the Republican Party nationwide that it is time to return to its roots and forsake the dangerous path it finds itself on.

Jonathan Madison, South Jordan