Third-party conservative challenges Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin is launching a campaign to challenge Republican Sen. Mike Lee in Utah. McMullin is a former CIA agent and congressional aide. He announced his third-party candidacy Tuesday in the conservative state where he made inroads with voters uncomfortable with then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016. He’s challenging Lee, a two-term incumbent who won office during the tea party movement. Lee was initially skeptical of Trump but later became a staunch ally of the president. His other challengers for 2022 include two Republican women: former state lawmaker Becky Edwards and former gubernatorial deputy chief of staff Ally Isom.