The United Utah Party issued the following statement:
The election for president is essentially over. It was not a close election in the popular vote. Former Vice-President Joe Biden received over 5 million votes across the nation more than President Donald Trump. Nor is it a close election in the electoral vote as, according to Fox News, Biden already has won 20 more votes than needed.
The gap between the two candidates in Pennsylvania is nearly 50,000 votes. In 2016, President Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 44,000 votes and claimed victory. In fact, even though the 2016 election across the nation was closer than this election, by this point Clinton had conceded, and Trump had claimed victory and met with President Obama.
By this point in every past election where one candidate has amassed that much of a vote advantage over the other, the losing candidate has conceded. That act is essential to help the country move on. It retains democratic institutions and reinforces the legitimacy of electoral processes where the people are sovereign and majority rule prevails.
We see enough of contested elections in countries around the world that deal with authoritarian regimes, military coups, or general unrest. Our country has always been a shining light of peaceful transfer of power president to president, political party to political party. To descend to the level of those fractious and unstable nations is disheartening.
Therefore, the United Utah Party calls on President Trump to recognize this reality, concede the election, and help the country transition to a new administration. We also call on Utah Republican leaders to publicly urge the president to do so. And we ask them not to join in the president’s insinuations that the election is rigged and the outcome is not legitimate.
We applaud Senator Mitt Romney for recognizing the election results and criticizing President Trump for failing to do so. But we urge all state Republican leaders to call on President Trump to concede now and participate in the much-needed transition. That includes Senator Romney, Senator Mike Lee, Governor Gary Herbert, Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox, Attorney General Sean Reyes, party chair Derek Brown, and Republican congressional representatives.
We believe that if President Trump realizes he does not have the support of his own party leaders, he will do the right thing for the nation.
