US midterm elections: Utah GOP Senator's defense of FPOTUS could hamper re-election campaign

Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee is facing re-election in the November midterms, running against Independent conservative Evan McMullin. According to a report, Lee's defense and affinity for former President Donald Trump may cost him voters and potentially his re-election chances.

In a piece for the Bulwark, conservative analyst A.B. Stoddard wrote that some Utah Republicans are likely turned off by Lee's affinity to the former president, and Lee's staunch defense of Trump may cost him his re-election chances.

Stoddard wrote that there is a very real possibility that McMullin, a former CIA officer and "never Trump" conservative, may defeat Lee in the November race that determines whether the Democratic Party keeps its majority in both chambers of Congress.

Stoddard noted that Lee is not facing a potential election defeat to McMullin because of the increased Liberal or Moderate voters, but it's the Republicans in the state who are beginning to turn against him. Stoddard cited Lee's attempts to help overturn the 2020 elections to keep Trump in power, which resulted in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

"His re-election is teetering because of Republican voters who are disgusted by his full embrace of Trump – including his attempts to help Trump overturn the 2020 election. These machinations created space for former CIA officer Evan McMullin to run as an independent after convincing the Utah Democratic Party not to put anyone on the ballot this year," wrote Stoddard.

However, Stoddard added that Lee's chances of winning re-election remain high as he is an incumbent, particularly a Republican incumbent in a state that is also predominantly GOP-aligned. Nevertheless, according to Stoddard, polls show that Lee is still in a tight race with McMullin.

Lee has attempted to deny his involvement in the attempts to overturn the 2020 elections in his debate with McMullin that took place on Monday. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale shut down Lee's response during the debate as to how he handled the 2020 election, citing Lee's own text messages that were unveiled by the Jan. 6 House Committee.

Dale noted that one part of Lee's claims were true. However, Dale said the "texts show Lee telling Meadows he was engaged in an intensive attempt, until at least two days prior to Jan. 6, to somehow find a way that Donald Trump could be named the winner of the election."