Recently Bryan Schott — in his piece, “Will Donald Trump lose Utah in 2024 after Republicans see low turnout and caucus chaos?” — opined that President Trump’s marginal victory of just 56% is evidence that MAGA is waning in the Beehive State.
What Schott’s postulate fails to address is how do you define a Haley voter? If that definition is nebulous, her presumed roll up of 44% of the vote is equally a shoddy conclusion.
Here are my observations from the caucus in Summit County.
While caucus can be rancorous, it is equally entertaining, fun and promotes community. Most participants enjoy seeing their neighbors and engage in politically charged conversations, yet others show up demanding to vote in the Presidential Preference Poll and leave without taking part in the selection of precinct officers.
Other drive-by voters arrived with numerous absentee ballots. Once tallied, it was revealed that absentee ballots in some precincts went exclusively for Haley. A day or two post-caucus, on Nextdoor, a caucus-goer posted, “it was unusual to see the lady from up the street with the BLM lawn sign at the Republican caucus.” Conclusion: the alleged hordes of Haley supporters were actually Democrats who switched parties in order to affect the outcome of the Republican caucus.
Without the ill-gotten Haley votes in the equation, Donald Trump’s commanding lead is revealed, proving that Utah is MAGA and will dominate in November.
Jerry Heck, Oakley
