This week’s question: Can Donald Trump catch up, or is he doomed with only a little more than two weeks to go in the election? Can Evan McMullin win Utah, and what does that mean? Why is Utah different than other states? Is the election rigged?
Peter Corroon, current state Democratic Chair, and former Salt Lake County Mayor. The race is over for Trump. Now it is about how badly he will lose. Hillary will win Utah based on the significant Democratic Party and candidate efforts this year. McMullin will finish a close second. Utah is different than other states because of our LDS population which votes together in a significant block, hence the McMullin surge.
Anyone who knows how the election process works will tell you how difficult it would be to rig a presidential election. First, because elections generally are conducted on the county level and results are posted by each county. There are over 3,000 counties nationwide. In addition, both political parties have representatives who monitor elections. While the Republicans try to suppress the minority (i.e., Democratic) vote in many states, the actual vote count is mostly fair even considering hanging chads.
W. Val Oveson, former Utah state auditor, lieutenant governor and National Taxpayer Advocate. Donald was doomed even before the recent debate and he made it worse with his continued insistence that the election is “rigged” against him. It looks like Evan McMullin will win in Utah. He has the benefit of my vote. He has no chance of winning the election but his background, training, ethics and platform provide me a safe place to cast my protest vote.
Trump never did resonate with Utah votes. Style, personality, ethics, Romney’s comments, endorsements of other Republican candidates by Utah political leaders all played factors. Yes, Utah is different. We are conservative but at the same time independent. We have been willing to vote for the person (or against) when the situation warranted, even against the tide of the party. And, no the election is not rigged against Donald Trump. We have an incredible election process that is controlled by the state and county officials with the help of volunteers and regular folks like you and me. It’s the greatest election system in the world and we should have a great deal of confidence in the process and the result. Trump’s claims are extremely damaging to our country and should be condemned in the strongest terms. Regarding the media, they are just doing their job. Trump lived by the media and got to where he is by the media and now he is going down to defeat by the media. He must bear the responsibility of his actions.
Ralph Becker, former Salt Lake City mayor and state representative. It finally looks like Trump cannot win — what has taken so long? Evan McMullin seems to be a viable alternative in Utah. His brand of conservatism coupled with being Mormon is the main reason for his unique success in Utah. What is disappointing to me is that Hillary Clinton is summarily dismissed by most Utahans. If her name wasn’t Clinton, I believe she would handily win in Utah. The election isn’t rigged.
LaVarr Webb, UtahPolicy.com publisher. It’s time to move on. Time to start speculating about what kind of president Hillary Clinton will be. If she is willing to meaningfully compromise with Republicans in Congress (something Obama was never willing to do), she has a chance of getting some important things accomplished. If she interprets her big win as a mandate for more taxes, more regulation and more government programs, she will fail. She needs to remember that almost any Republican candidate other than Trump would have defeated her. This country is still center-right. Clinton had to run far to the left to defeat Bernie Sanders. If she governs like she campaigned, her presidency will be a disaster for the country.
