🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Mike Lee openly called for fellow Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney to support him in the upcoming Utah Senate election as he faces a combined coalition of independents and Democrats in the shape of Evan McMullin.
Lee, the incumbent Utah senator, is running against McMullin in November, the only Senate election where Democrats have not put forward a candidate in a bid to unseat the incumbent by appealing to as broad a demographic as possible.
The race has an added subplot as Romney is the only GOP senator not to openly endorse Lee, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump who worked on early efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Instead, Romney, one of the most vocal critics of Trump in the Republican Party, including voting to impeach the former president over the January 6 Capitol attack, said he will remain neutral in the race between his fellow Republican Lee and his friend McMullin.
Speaking on Tucker Carlson Tonight Tuesday, Lee was asked by the host whether he has approached Romney for his support as the GOP hopes to regain control of the Senate from the Democrats next month.
"I've asked him. I am asking him here again tonight right now. Mitt, if you'd like to protect the Republican majority, give us any chance of seizing the Republican majority once again, getting it away from the Democrats who are facilitating this massive spending spree in a massive inflationary binge, please get on board, help me win reelection. Help us do that," Lee said.
Lee also requested that Romney, and the Fox News viewers, donate to his campaign in order to fight off challenger McMullin.
"It's a race getting closer and closer," Lee said. "Because Evan McMullin continues to raise millions of dollars from progressive Democratic donors nationwide who are hell-bent nationwide on getting rid of me and replacing me."
Romney has been contacted for comment.
Lee's assessment that the Utah Senate race is getting closer appears to be accurate. While Lee is the favorite to win November's election and has beaten McMullin in the past eight opinion polls, the Republican's lead is narrowing.
In mid-September, two surveys from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the Utah Debate Commission both gave Lee a double-digit lead over McMullin, with the internal NRSC poll showing the Republican was 17 points ahead of the independent challenger (51-34 percent).
However with less than a month until the midterms, McMullin has started to close the gap, with the four most recent polls showing Lee's lead reduced to between 2 and 5 points.
According to the most recent survey for Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics, 42 percent of likely Utah voters said they would back Lee if the midterm election was held today, and 37 percent said they would opt for McMullin.
The survey also found that 12 percent of Utahns are undecided, with moderates representing the highest percentage of those who aren't sure who to vote for in November.
"The Utah Senate race will be won on the frontlines by the candidate who can capture the ever-important base of moderate voters," said Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.
"Conservatives and liberals have largely made up their minds, now we're going to see how the silent, moderate majority exerts their power. That is the ground both candidates want."
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more