Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 227th day of the year. There are 138 days remaining in 2017.
Voters head to the polls across Utah today for primary elections. Julie Dole is rankling some feathers by recycling old endorsements from people who don’t support her now. Officials begin the crackdown on lawlessness in downtown Salt Lake City.
The clock:
- The 2017 Utah primary election is today (8/15/2017)
- 84 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
- 160 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
- 205 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
- 448 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 1,176 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today’s political TL; DR –
- Acting Salt Lake County Recorder Julie Dole is recycling six-year-old endorsements as part of her campaign to hold on to that job. Many of those whose endorsements she’s reusing are angry because they either didn’t give their permission for her to use them or have withdrawn their support for Dole [Utah Policy].
- State leaders launch a three-phase attack on lawlessness and crime in downtown Salt Lake City, but if it’s going to work in the long run Utah needs a waiver from the Trump administration for the limited expansion approved by lawmakers [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
- The race for the GOP nomination in Utah’s 3rd CD is extremely close heading into election day [KUTV].
- We may not know who won Tuesday’s 3rd CD GOP primary until later in the week because of a close race and ballot problems in Utah and Wasatch Counties [Deseret News].
- Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen says they’ve addressed the problems that caused long lines for voters during last year’s election, and Tuesday’s election should go much more smoothly [Tribune].
- Groups are trying to rally Utah Republicans and independent voters who could register as Republicans to hit the polls for Tuesday’s primary election [Tribune].
- Two rallies in Salt Lake City let Utahns voice their opposition to the neo-Nazi violence that happened Saturday in Virginia [Deseret News, Tribune].
- LaVarr Webb lays out what he means when he uses the term “mainstream conservative” [Utah Policy].
National headlines:
- It took two days, but President Donald Trump finally denounced the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups responsible for the terror attack in Virginia on Saturday that left one person dead [Associated Press].
- Two more CEOs stepped down from a White House advisory group citing President Trump’s tepid response to Saturday’s neo-Nazi violence in Virginia [Bloomberg].
- Extremist right-wing groups and white supremacists are feeling emboldened and are planning more events like last Saturday’s rally [New York Times].
- Tech giants like Twitter, Google, and Facebook are feeling increased pressure to crack down on hate speech from right-wing extremist groups in the wake of Saturday’s violence [USA Today].
- Protesters pulled down a statue of a Confederate soldier in Durham, North Carolina on Monday night [Herald Sun].
- President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings continue to fall, even among his most fervent supporters [USA Today].
- The knives appear to be coming out for White House strategist Steve Bannon [New York Times].
- Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci says if it were up to him, Steve Bannon would be gone from the White House [Fox News].
- North Korean state media says Kim Jong Un has called off the plan to test fire ballistic missiles toward Guam later this month [Los Angeles Times].
- Voters in Alabama head to the polls on Tuesday for a primary election to pick the replacement for Jeff Sessions, who stepped down to become Attorney General [Politico].
On this day in history:
- 1057 – Macbeth, King of Scots, was killed in battle by Malcolm, the eldest son of King Duncan, whom Macbeth had slain.
- 1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship SS Ancon.
- 1939 – The Wizard of Oz premieres in Los Angeles.
- 1945 – The Allies proclaim V-J Day, one day after Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally.
- 1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City.
- 1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.
- 1971 – President Richard Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, prices, and rents.
- 1973 – The U.S. bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War ends.
