In Utah, Senator Mike Lee is running against the #NeverTrump candidate Evan McMullin, and the race is a little closer than most Republicans would like.
Senator Mitt Romney, who is not up for reelection this year, is doing next to nothing to help Lee’s campaign. Some GOP senators are getting annoyed by his lack of support.
Mollie Hemingway writes at The Federalist:
GOP Senators Baffled By Mitt Romney’s Ploy To Oust Mike Lee — And Maybe Thwart A MajorityRepublican senators are growing concerned by colleague Mitt Romney’s refusal to help fellow Utah Republican Mike Lee decisively win his re-election campaign — a posture that could potentially keep their party from gaining a majority in the November elections. Unlike every other Republican senator, the 2012 failed Republican presidential candidate is declining to express a preference in Republican Lee’s re-election effort against Democrat-endorsed Evan McMullin.“I respect [Romney], and I understand that each state has its own dynamics, but I do not understand why he is remaining neutral,” said one Republican senator who asked not to be identified. “Whatever our differences, we all try to support each other around election time.”Both moderate and conservative senators confirmed the grumbling in the conference. “We should not have to be worried about Utah in any way. I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing, but it’s not going over well, particularly with the [senators] who are up for chairmanships,” said another Republican senator. Neither Lee nor Romney responded to inquiries by press time…Romney’s refusal to support Lee, and support his party’s message that they have better solutions to what ails the country than their Democrat counterparts, is making other Republican senators doubt his loyalty to them, observers say.“If you’re not going to have the back of your colleague in your state who is a fellow Republican, how will I know you’ll have my back?” said one senior Republican staffer, describing the thinking of the conference. “It creates a certain amount of awkwardness in the conference as a whole.”
Deseret News is out with a new poll that shows this to be a close race, but Hemingway notes that this pollster has a history of overstating support for McMullin:
How tight is the Mike Lee-Evan McMullin race for Senate? New Utah poll has answersEngaged in a fierce battle in the U.S. Senate race in Utah, a new poll shows Republican Sen. Mike Lee and independent challenger Evan McMullin neck and neck with a little over six weeks to Election Day.The latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey found 36% of Utahns would vote for Lee and 34% for McMullin if the election were held today. Another 16% don’t know who they would vote for, while 13% would mark the ballot, which includes two third-party candidates, for someone else.Dan Jones & Associates conducted the poll of 815 registered Utah voters for the Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute from Sept. 3-21. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.43 percentage points.
Last week, Breitbart News reported that internal Lee polling showed the senator has an 18-point advantage.
Conservatives are already distrustful of Mitt Romney. He is doing himself no favors by sitting on the sidelines in this race.
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