Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 292nd day of the year. There are 74 days left in 2016.
Former Gov. Jon Huntsman may run for Senate in 2018 as an independent. Utah GOP Chairman James Evans says he’s been on the receiving end of death threats. Another poll shows Utah could be a swing state this year.
The clock:
- Two days to the 3rd Congressional District debate at Utah Valley University (10/19/2016)
- Two days to the third presidential debate at UNLV (10/19/2016)
- 14 days to register to vote online in Utah (11/1/2016)
- 21 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 97 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 142 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman could mount a campaign for Senate in 2018…as an independent candidate [Utah Policy].
- Utah GOP Chairman James Evans says he’s received death threats after he had suggested President Bill Clinton fathered an illegitimate child with a prostitute during a nationally televised interview. Staffers for the state GOP have been dispersed to different locations as a result [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
- Another poll suggests Utah could be a swing state. The Rasmussen survey has Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Evan McMullin in a statistical three-way tie [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
- Doug Owens has raised twice as much money for this year’s congressional bid than he did during his 2014 campaign [Utah Policy].
- Sen. John McCain suggests Senate Republicans would block any Supreme Court nominee put up by Hillary Clinton [Huffington Post].
- State Department Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy repeatedly lobbied the FBI to declassify emails from Hillary Clinton‘s private email server [CNN].
- Melania Trump defended her husband, Donald Trump, saying he was “egged on” in a tape that showed him bragging about sexually assaulting women. She also said allegations of sexual misconduct against her husband were “lies” [CNN]. She also says she hopes to address “negativity” on social media as First Lady [Politico].
- Rep. Rob Bishop and his Democratic challenger Peter Clemens clash over public lands and Donald Trump during their debate at Weber State University [Deseret News, Tribune].
- An internal poll from Doug Owens‘ camp suggests his race against Mia Love may be tightening ahead of election day [Tribune].
- South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood vetoes an attempt by the city council to strengthen nepotism ordinances. Five relatives of Mayor Wood are currently employed by the city [Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- 1776 – The border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was established. Dubbed the “Mason-Dixon” line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.
- 1867 – The United States completed its purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million, taking possession of the territory from Russia.
- 1962 – Dr. James D. Watson of the United States and Dr. Francis Crick and Dr. Maurice Wilkins of Britain were named winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work in determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.
- 1972 – Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard M. Nixon’s veto.
