Trump says he was really for Luther Strange after Roy Moore loses. Utah lawmakers may find a pay raise hard in election year. Monument supporters rally.
Happy Wednesday. President Donald Trump claimed this morning that he knew Republican Roy Moore, who he endorsed ahead of Tuesday’s special Senate election in Alabama, would be unable to win because “the deck was stacked against him!” Trump tried to say that he had been right all along about the race, because he had initially endorsed Luther Strange, who ultimately lost to Moore, in the Alabama primary, despite putting in help to get Moore a win. [Politico]
Topping the news: Utah lawmakers may find it difficult to work towards a pay raise as an election year approaches. [Trib]
-> National monument supporters rallied outside of the Utah State Capitol on Tuesday to protest Rep. Chris Stewart’s plan to create a sixth national park on a fraction of the former Grand Staircase monument. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Utah County lawmakers are requesting Commissioner Greg Graves’ resignation after allegations of harassment and bullying have surfaced. [Trib] [DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @BillKristol: “Close analysis of cross tabs suggests Sassy the horse did not vote for Roy Moore.”
-> From @gopTODD: “The Republican Party won tonight. It’s way better off without Moore in the Senate.”
-> From GlobeKPD: “Diet Coke tanker trunk just pulled up in front of 1600 Penn Ave.”
Happy Birthday: To KCPW’s Emily Means.
In other news: The Salt Lake City Council unanimously approved a new housing plan on Tuesday. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4]
-> Weber County Commissioner Kerry Gibson will leave his position to become deputy director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Pat Bagley gives a humorous political spin to LDS personal interviews. [Trib]
Nationally: Democrat Doug Jones won Alabama’s Senate seat on Tuesday, beating controversial GOP candidate Roy Moore. [NYTimes]
-> GOP legislators and the House Natural Resources Committee are responding unhappily to Patagonia’s advertising against Trump’s move to shrink national monuments but it’s also raising concern among ethics observers. [WaPost]
-> Republicans continue to develop their tax plan in the hopes of delivering it to Trump by next week. [Politico]
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-- Thomas Burr and Karenna Meredith: Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/meredithkarenna