Utah Democrats have a big decision to make this weekend.
In an out-of-the-ordinary move, a group of Utah Democrats plan to forward a motion at the state party convention on Saturday that will prompt delegates to choose between backing a party candidate in the contested U.S. Senate race or elevating an outsider.
Democrat Kael Weston and independent Evan McMullin are vying for the backing of the Democratic Party in order to defeat the Republican incumbent Sen. Mike Lee, who is running for this third term.
It’s been more than half a century since a Democrat was elected as a U.S. Senator to represent Utah and Democrats must grapple with choosing partisanship allegiance or strategizing to unseat the two-term Republican senator.
McMullin, who ran for president during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and garnered 21.5% of Utahns’ votes, has collected the support of several high-profile Utah Democrats in recent months, such as former Utah Rep. Ben McAdams and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson.
Weston, a former U.S. Department of State official, ran against Utah Rep. Chris Stewart in 2020.
“It’s unique to see such high-profile Democrats out there championing someone who is not a Democrat. We’ve not seen this before and Saturday will tell us whether or not we’re likely to see it again,” said Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.
Perry said delegates will face a lot of pressure from members of their own party.
“It’s been contentious going into this convention,” Perry said. “I predict that we’ll see a lot of that contention surfacing on Saturday as well.
Damon Cann, professor of political science at Utah State University, said he can’t think of a time in Utah or U.S. history where a political party did not nominate its own candidate in a race. In Utah, he said Democrats will have to choose between “an idealistic choice and a pragmatic choice.”
“There’s some recognition in the Democratic Party of the realities of the party registration balance in Utah,” he said. “On some level, I think there’s a recognition that any Democrat who runs for statewide office in Utah is going to have an uphill battle.”
Ben Anderson, communications director for the Utah Democratic Party, estimates about 2,500 people will show up on Saturday.
“It’s going to be the biggest gathering of Democrats in the state and it’s our first in-person convention since 2019, so we’re super excited to see everyone again and get to work on this election,” Anderson said.
Other races to watch on Saturday
Democrats Nike Mitchell, a scientist, and Steve Hartwick, who works at a genetic cancer research company Myriad Genetics, are each vying to run in the 2nd U.S. Congressional District against Republican Stewart
Candidates Archie A. Williams III and Glenn Wright are both competing to win the Democratic nomination in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District race against Republican Rep. John Curtis.
Democrats Rick Jones, a retired adjunct economics teacher, and Darlene McDonald, an author and activist, are each running against Republican incumbents Reps. Blake Moore and Burgess Owens, respectively.
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