Mike Lee in 2022 UT Senate race

On Government Reform: Voted to certify 2020 election after questioning it

Commentator 1: And McMullin didn't just leave the Republican Party. Like, he ran for president against Trump in 2016 as an independent, right?

Commentator 2: That's right. He was only on the ballot in a handful of states but actually won 21% of the vote here in Utah. And Senator Mike Lee, who he's running against right now, actually voted for him and not Trump.

Commentator 1: So Senator Lee did not vote for Trump in 2016, but Trump is actually still endorsing Lee in this election?

Commentator 2: You're right.

Lee was also endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence. That being said, it has been revealed that Lee was in contact with the Trump White House following the 2020 election and was actually encouraging plans to overturn the election. He later reversed course and voted to certify the election on January 6.

On Government Reform: Only role on Jan. 6 is counting electoral ballots

Text messages between Lee and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows show that Lee made extensive behind-the-scenes efforts, before January 6, to try to find a way to keep Trump in office. On November 23, 2020, Lee suggested an "audit" of ballots in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan--baselessly claiming to Meadows that "something is not right in a few states." Then, on December 8, 2020, Lee floated the idea of states won by Biden appointing fake pro-Trump electors: "If a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternative slates of delegates, there could be a path."