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Never Trumper Evan McMullin whose late entry into the 2016 presidential race as an “independent” was an obvious effort to siphon off enough votes from former President Donald J. Trump to put Hillary Clinton into the White House is now the best hope for Utah Democrats seeking to unseat Republican Senator Mike Lee.

The former CIA spook who had zero national name recognition at the time of his failed 2016 bid but still received glowing media coverage and who proudly cast his vote for Joe Biden in 2020 is once again running as an “independent” against Lee but state Democrats blew his cover when in an astonishing move, they voted to ditch their own party hopeful to get behind McMullin.

On Saturday, the Democrats held their annual convention where they made the unusual decision to not field their own candidate, instead throwing their backing to McMullin, a move that says as much about the candidate as it does about their desire to get rid of Lee, a staunch conservative.

According to Deseret News, “During Saturday’s at times chaotic convention at Cottonwood High School in the Salt Lake County suburb of Murray, a faction of delegates put forth a motion to opt against choosing Kael Weston as the party’s Democratic U.S. Senate nominee and instead join McMullin’s coalition,”

Today Utah Democrats voted to join Evan McMullin’s independent coalition and NOT nominate a candidate for U.S. Senate. I’m proud to be part of this coalition. Together we can win this race and defeat Mike Lee. #utpol pic.twitter.com/NuI84mRqSa

— Ben McAdams (@BenMcAdams) April 23, 2022

In seeking to replace Lee, McMullin hopes to become Utah’s second senator to be a sworn enemy of Trump, joining fellow failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Washington D.C.

He spoke to the crowd, spewing dark conspiracy theories about Senator Lee, who represents a threat to “democracy” as he suggested.

“We will show the rest of the country how we can beat people like Mike Lee who try to overturn our democracy in the shadows,” @EvanMcMullin tells the Utah Democratic Convention. pic.twitter.com/8PUPe6Srxp

— Jeff Parrott (@jefftparrott) April 23, 2022

“We know that Sen. Mike Lee was quite involved in the effort to overturn our democracy,” McMullin told reporters, using the false narrative constructed around the so-called “insurrection” on January 6, 2021 by Democrats to tilt the tables in their favor.

“We have got to take a stand as Utahns,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or or an independent or a Republican or a member of the United Utah Party, this is a line that cannot be crossed, our right to hold our leaders accountable and to vote for or against them and have a peaceful transition of power is essential for liberty and justice in America. We cannot compromise on that, and we must all be united to defend it.”

The Democrats’ valiant knight in shining armor took to Twitter to hail his alliance to the party.

“Today we took an important step in building a new coalition of Democrats, Republicans and independents to change our broken politics. I’m grateful for the support of Democratic delegates who voted to join us and for Kael Weston’s honorable campaign. Onward!” McMullin wrote.

https://twitter.com/EvanMcMullin/status/1518004807386103808?s=20&t=cyHj3fHeBTxDlU_6eWeOvg

He also all but openly accused Lee of treason.

At a bare minimum, we should be able to expect our senators to keep their oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution. @SenMikeLee did the opposite. He betrayed Utahns and every American in the nation. He must be held accountable.

— Evan McMullin 🇺🇸 (@EvanMcMullin) April 22, 2022

McMullin’s excited supporters flooded Twitter to post their accolades.

BIG news today! This will be an important U.S. Senate race & the one to watch. Utah Democrats voted to not run a candidate & are backing Independent @EvanMcMullin in the race against seditionist GOP Sen. Mike Lee. Americans coming together for the greater good—Let’s go!🇺🇸

— Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) April 24, 2022

https://twitter.com/niajmattu/status/1518012648268480512?s=20&t=cyHj3fHeBTxDlU_6eWeOvg

https://twitter.com/JeffreySPatter1/status/1518179884409004032?s=20&t=cyHj3fHeBTxDlU_6eWeOvg

https://twitter.com/lindyli/status/1518077283151630340?s=20&t=_eaxVQS0XV3V794VbaVYAg

https://twitter.com/melissadawes/status/1516092198185410560?s=20&t=cyHj3fHeBTxDlU_6eWeOvg

Others expressed a different viewpoint.

Big news. McMullin couldn’t even beat Hillary in Utah in 2016 but he’ll be representing Democrats on the ballot in 2022.

Can’t wait to see him get crushed. https://t.co/ftu1e3hPqd

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 23, 2022

Ivan McMuffen has always been a crypto-Dem.

— Crosspatch-ish (@VictorishB123) April 23, 2022

McMullin who after the 2016 election tweeted that “Donald Trump is not a loyal American” only managed to get a paltry 732,273 votes but has been able to maintain viability as a political candidate largely due to his support within the Beltway where he is adored by the denizens of The Swamp.

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Chris Donaldson

Staff Writer

Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.

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