Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is projected to win his reelection handily, defeating well-known Never Trumper, former GOP member, and Utah “independent” Senate candidate Evan McMullin.
Fox News called Lee the winner of the race Tuesday night.
UTAH: The Fox News Decision Desk is also projecting that Republican incumbent Mike Lee will hold on in the Utah Senate race. He defeats independent candidate Evan McMullin, who also failed in his 2016 presidential bid.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
Lee strangely did not face off against a registered Democrat, as is the case in most states. His opponent, Evan McMullin, ran as a candidate with no party affiliation after his previous stint as a Never Trumper Republican. Rather than registering somebody within their own party, the Utah Democrat Party endorsed McMullin’s bid to oust Lee.
Despite being a self-proclaimed independent, McMullin’s actions cast some doubts earlier in the race after he began campaigning with Never Trumpers and leftists such as Alyssa Milano.
“In case you’re one of those people who doesn’t believe hell exists, tonight there is a rally featuring Adam Kinzinger, Evan McMuffin, and Alyssa Milano,” Washington Free Beacon executive editor Brent Scher wrote at the time, sharing a press release for a virtual ‘Get Out the Vote’ rally featuring the trio.
In case you're one of those people who doesn't believe hell exists, tonight there is a rally featuring Adam Kinzinger, Evan McMuffin, and Alyssa Milano pic.twitter.com/hksSVIASwl
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 27, 2022
Lee has said before that McMullin is feeding what he calls the “Democrat industrial complex.”
McMullin has additionally been known to launch nasty attacks against conservative Americans. An August 2017 interview showed the Utah candidate claiming, “there is an element of the Republican base that is racist.”
Much to his displeasure, this line was used in a political attack ad during the campaign. McMullin even sued the Club for Growth after the video’s release.
Other kind words McMullin has said about Republicans include a June 2020 post in which he wrote, “The GOP is sick. It invited racist parasites into Lincoln’s party years ago and they’ve sucked the values and patriotism from its body. I haven’t been optimistic that it could change, but I hoped and fought anyway. Now, I don’t see how it ever recovers from Trump’s ‘white power.’”
The GOP is sick. It invited racist parasites into Lincoln's party years ago and they've sucked the values and patriotism from its body. I haven't been optimistic that it could change, but I hoped and fought anyway. Now, I don't see how it ever recovers from Trump's "white power."
— Evan McMullin 🇺🇸 (@EvanMcMullin) June 28, 2020
Lee’s projected win by an almost 15-point margin at 61% reporting comes in spite of the refusal of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) to endorse his candidacy.
