SALT LAKE CITY (AP) 鈥 Utah Republican Mike Lee has been reelected to a third term in the U.S. Senate, defeating independent challenger Evan McMullin on Tuesday in the state's most closely watched Senate race in decades.
Lee鈥檚 win keeps Utah in Republican hands as the party and reflects that the libertarian-leaning conservative鈥檚 popularity has endured in Utah. His win indicates the majority of Utah voters were not swayed by McMullin鈥檚 criticisms of Lee鈥檚 , from a one-time opponent of former President Donald Trump to among his most loyal supporters.
In an emotionally raw victory speech, Lee said his victory was a rebuke of Democrats who have controlled Washington for the past two years. He said it put Republicans in a good position heading toward the next presidential election, when voters will be asked whether to give Democrats another four years in the White House.
鈥淚 look forward to 2024, when even the blue states are going to be saying 鈥楬eck no!' And that鈥檚 strong language in Utah,鈥 Lee said on a stage alongside his family.
Across the nation, Senate races remained in flux. Republicans defended a seat in Ohio and Democrats defended one in New Hampshire, but a complete picture of next year鈥檚 U.S. Senate remained unclear as other critical battlegrounds were too early to call on Tuesday night.
McMullin鈥檚 formal , which opted to back him instead of choosing a candidate, and attempts to exploit anti-Trump sentiment ultimately weren鈥檛 enough to unseat Lee, but in his concession speech he commended them for making the race competitive.
McMullin thanked the Democrats, Republicans and independents who supported him and said their unity made the race Utah鈥檚 most competitive in half a century. He said he hoped more voters, candidates and campaigns would focus on unifying people rather than leaning into politics of division 鈥渂ecause America does stand at the crossroads of democracy and despotism.鈥
He mostly refrained from pointed remarks again Lee, yet he repeated his campaign trail message against divisiveness and threats to democracy.
鈥淚 truly hope he upholds his oath to the Constitution in his upcoming term,鈥 McMullin said of Lee.
Utah voters were familiar with McMullin from his independent presidential campaign in 2016, when he won 21.5% of the vote in the in Utah by seizing on anti-Trump sentiment to deny Trump an outright majority in the state.
Six years later, McMullin鈥檚 bid focused largely on Lee鈥檚 in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. It ultimately wasn鈥檛 enough to score an upset in a state where voters and many political leaders have gradually grown to embrace Trump since 2016.
McMullin鈥檚 accusation that Lee had betrayed his oath of office when he became entangled in communications about how Trump could overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 win was front-of-mind for Lee's supporters at his election night event, including one who yelled, 鈥淵ou deserve an apology!鈥 during the senator's victory speech.
鈥淭hank you,鈥 Lee said.
Lee comes from a prominent Utah political family. His father, Rex, served as U.S. Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan and his brother, Thomas, is a former state Supreme Court Justice currently defending the state鈥檚 ban on transgender youth who want to participate in girls鈥 sports.
Since first being elected, Lee has cultivated a reputation for citing the U.S. Constitution frequently, often with the help of a pocket-sized edition he carries, and for advocating to limit the size of the federal government. He鈥檚 clung to those principles even when doing so has made him a lone 鈥淣o鈥 against otherwise unanimous votes in the Senate and contributed to the federal government shutting down. Two Republicans cited his unwillingness to compromise as a rationale for challenging him in Utah鈥檚 June primary and McMullin used his record to accuse him of being an obstructionist.
Lee鈥檚 defenders say his voting records exemplifies a willingness to fight for them and their values. He received endorsements from 48 Senate Republicans 鈥 all but Mitt Romney, who he鈥檚 represented Utah alongside since 2019. Lee鈥檚 victory over a self-identified conservative independent like McMullin suggests challenges could lie ahead for Romney should he decided to run for reelection in 2024.
Lee鈥檚 contest against McMullin was more competitive than either of Lee鈥檚 previous two races. He was first elected in 2010 during a Tea Party wave that he rode to unseat third-term Republican Sen. Bob Bennett at the Utah Republican Party鈥檚 convention that year and ultimately won the general election by 28.8 percentage points. He secured a second term in 2016, defeating Democrat Misty Snow by 31 percentage points.
He began that year as an avowed and public opponent of then-candidate Trump, even attempting to lead an effort to sabotage his nomination on the floor of the Republican 春色直播 Convention. He voiced anger at Trump鈥檚 treatment of his friend and colleague U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and said on national television that the 鈥淢uslim ban鈥 plank of Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign was religious discrimination and an affront to both his beliefs and the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members make up the .
Lee gradually warmed to Trump as he began fulfilling the priorities such as nominating conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, lowering taxes and embracing a conservative case for criminal justice reform. His ideological viewpoint won him support from political action committees like Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth, which funneled millions into attack ads undercutting McMullin鈥檚 attempts to portray himself as an independent.
___
Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of the elections at:
Check out to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the 2022 midterm elections.
