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Evan McMullin on Principles & Values
Conservative independent challenger
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In statistical 3-way tie for electoral votes in Utah
Utah has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964, but Donald Trump's lewd comments about women have enraged socially conservative voters, and a little-known candidate could come out on top there. Independent Evan McMullin and Hillary
Clinton are virtually tied with Trump in Utah according to a new poll, with 22%-26% support [each, within the margin of error]. Libertarian Gary Johnson takes 14%.McMullin, a Utah native, presents himself as the "true conservative" alternative to
Trump. His weakness--common among third party candidates--is that 48% of Utah voters don't know him. But McMullin receives positive marks from the 52% of voters who do know him: Four out of five view him positively. That's in stark contrast to Clinton
and Trump, as both have unfavorable ratings of 70% in Utah.
McMullin cannot win the presidency through the Electoral College since he is on the ballot in only 11 states. But voters can write in his name in 23 additional states.
Source: McClatchy News on Third 2016 Presidential Debate
, Oct 12, 2016
Attended Brigham Young U; will contest Trump in Utah
McMullin has been a vocal critic of Trump on social media. On the night of Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention, he tweeted that Trump was an "authoritarian" who was seeking to infringe on civil rights.
Apart from his low profile, his candidacy will face other substantial hurdles in gaining traction--especially with ballot access and fundraising.
But people close to the effort suggested McMullin would have the backing of serious Republican donors and fundraisers.
They also pointed to his ties to Utah, a state where polls show Trump badly underperforming with the Mormon-heavy electorate. McMullin, an alum of Brigham Young University, plans to aggressively contest the state.
Source: Buzzfeed News on 2016 presidential hopeful
, Aug 8, 2016
Received MBA from Wharton in 2011; unmarried
Young and unmarried, McMullin received an MBA at Wharton in 2011, and after a stint at Goldman Sachs, went to work as a policy wonk on Capitol Hill.Unlike National Review writer David French,
another conservative courted by anti-Trump Republicans to launch a long-shot third-party bid, McMullin has virtually no public profile. He doesn't appear regularly on television, and has just 135 followers on Twitter.
Source: Buzzfeed News on 2016 presidential hopeful
, Aug 8, 2016
Americans have lost faith in both major parties
Evan McMullin, the chief policy director for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, will offer discontented members of his party an option this November by launching an independent,
conservative bid for president: "In a year where Americans have lost faith in the candidates of both major parties, it's time for a generation of new leadership to step up,"
McMullin said. "It's never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us.
I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a conservative choice for President."
Source: Louis Nelson on Politico.com on 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Aug 8, 2016
Page last updated: Nov 06, 2016