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SALT LAKE CITY — The United Utah Party is endorsing independent Evan McMullin to run against Mike Lee for U.S. Senate. The decision was made with a vote at the party's state convention on Saturday.
Party members voted 46-3 in favor of endorsing McMullin, making this the first time the party, which was established in 2017, has endorsed a candidate who is not one of its members. The party was established by both Republicans and Democrats who thought their parties were moving too far from the center.
"The executive committee is excited about Evan McMullin and we believe that his practical, nonpartisan approach is consistent with the values of the United Utah Party," said United Hillary Stirling, chairwoman of the United Utah Party.
Stirling called McMullin a "friend of the party," and said there were a few members of the United Utah Party who were talking about running for Senate before McMullin announced his candidacy. After he said he was running, the party realized much of the moderate support would go toward him and decided to consider becoming part of his coalition.
Stirling said not everything he supports lines up with their platform, but that it is more important that they can work together.
"He is a good fit for our viewpoint," she said. "We feel that enough of what he supports aligns with the party that it was worthwhile."
McMullin, himself, thanked party members on Saturday and said he is honored to be endorsed by them. He said he is hoping to create a coalition of support like this and use Utah political traditions to help national leadership.
"Here in Utah, we have a unique opportunity to bring change, not only for us to serve our own purposes in the state but also to the country. I believe that the country needs Utah's leadership in this moment," he said.
Here in Utah, we have a unique opportunity to bring change, not only for us to serve our own purposes in the state but also to the country. I believe that the country needs Utah's leadership in this moment.
–Evan McMullin, independent candidate for U.S. Senate
McMullin has also been endorsed by some Democratic politicians and is inviting people from all parties to support him in his Senate run. He said his whole campaign is about uniting people from different groups.
"If we are together, we will win this ... and if we win, it will make Utah the most influential state in the union, and more specifically, ... it will make this coalition the most powerful in the country," he said. "With it, we will do a tremendous amount of good."
He also pointed to the United Utah Party's endorsement as a critical part of building that coalition.
"This is a party founded on the vision of uniting people in an age of the politics of division and extremism, and so they're natural allies. And I appreciate their efforts and I know that they share a vision to unite Utahns around a greater purpose, around our values, around the interests of our state, around the future of our country — a positive, healthy future," McMullin said.
Party growth
There were about 75 members of the party participating in the convention on Saturday, with about two-thirds of those attendees in person and the others watching the meeting online.
The party has grown by leaps and bounds since it was organized with a small press conference five years ago and has grown. Stirling said in January 2018, they had less than 300 members; in January 2022 their numbers had increased to 2,600 members.
Stirling said the party's influence is larger than the number of members. Although the party has not yet had a candidate elected to a state-level office, it has had candidates receive over 35% of the vote in some races, and its candidates have received an average of over 20% of the vote in all races.
In 2020, the party received 242,000 votes across all the races their candidates participated in, showing that they are getting votes from many people who are not enrolled in the party. Stirling said there are people who donate to the party but remain members of the Republican Party in order to have influence in Republican primaries.
"The big thing is convincing people we can do it," she said.
The keynote speaker at the state convention, Kent Norton, said the United Utah Party has a good set of circumstances to create change this year.
"Imagine if there were enough independents or third-party representatives that no one party could get anything done without some cooperation and support from others, in collaboration with others ... what a positive change that would be," Norton said.
He said not every Republican idea is good, and not every Democratic idea is bad; the goal is to put principles first.
United Utah Party candidates
The United Utah Party has 24 candidates running for offices this year One is running for state treasurer, many are running for state House and Senate seats, and two are running for United States Congress.
Seven candidates for state offices that span multiple counties and the two national offices were also officially nominated at the convention.
January Walker is the United Utah Party candidate for U.S. Congressional District 4. In her speech, she talked about courage, specifically the courage it takes to be a politician and stand for values.
"If the American people more fully understood the terrible pressures which discourage acts of political courage, then they may be more critical of those who take the easier road and more appreciative of those who follow the path of courage," Walker said.
She works in cybersecurity and is running for office because there are no other candidates with that background. She said many of the skills she has through her career are unique among candidates.
Jay Mcfarland, the party's candidate for U.S. Congressional District 2, said it takes individuals to change a country and gave examples of individuals who he believes have made a difference. He said that understanding the power of one person helped him decide to run and realize that taking action and doing the right thing is important, regardless of the outcome.
Mcfarland said that he supported the United Utah Party's endorsement of McMullin and that they plan to do some campaign events together.
He was a talk show host at KSL NewsRadio until he stepped down to run for Congress in the 2020 primaries as a Republican. He said he wanted to show that you can be an advocate for ideas without fear, hatred and anger. He said that behavior seen in politicians isn't tolerated elsewhere, but is seen as a strength in politics when it shouldn't be.
"We need to choose people who are interested in, without ego, without compromising values, in fight(ing) for their ideals in a way that we can build on common ground," he said.
