Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 103rd day of the year. There are 263 days left in 2016.
Gary Herbert and Jonathan Johnson debate for the first time. A poll shows Herbert would cruise to another term in November while Johnson would struggle a bit against Democratic candidates. Mike Lee makes an unexpected bid for a Senate leadership slot.
The clock:
- 11 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 27 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
- 77 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 97 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
- 104 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
- 210 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 286 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 331 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- Gary Herbert and Jonathan Johnson meet on the debate stage for the first time. It was a mostly tepid affair, but Johnson did criticize Herbert for not being conservative enough for Utah [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News, 2 News].
- A new poll shows Gov. Herbert would easily defeat Democrats Mike Weinholtz or Vaughn Cook in November. However, Jonathan Johnson could be in a much closer race if he wins the nomination [Utah Policy].
- Sen. Mike Lee is making a bid for a leadership post currently held by Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso. Lee’s challenge is unexpected and is causing some turmoil within the Senate GOP Caucus [Politico].
- Whoops! Donald Trump‘s kids Ivanka and Eric Trump aren’t registered as Republicans, so they can’t vote for their dad in next week’s New York primary [Associated Press].
- Yikes! Hillary Clinton is getting criticism for participating in a skit that made a racially charged joke at an event in New York [New York Times].
- Former Rep. Brad Dee has three government-funded retirement plans, and he might get a fourth if he wins his race to the Weber County Commission [Standard-Examiner].
- Instead of hiring a new executive director for the Salt Lake City’s Redevelopment Agency, Mayor Jackie Biskupski may handle those duties herself [Tribune].
- Salt Lake County is considering banning romantic, or sexual relationships between supervisors and subordinates after allegations of nepotism rocked the county recorder’s office [Deseret News].
- A federal court tosses out a lower court decision that effectively decriminalized polygamy in Utah [Deseret News, Associated Press, Tribune, Fox 13].
- Former Utah AG John Swallow says prosecutors violated attorney-client privilege and wants the corruption case against him thrown out [Tribune, Fox 13].
On this day in history:
- 1861 – The Civil War began when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
- 1945 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the longest-serving president in U.S. history, died of a cerebral hemorrhage three months into his fourth term.
- 1961 – Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space and the first to orbit Earth.
- 1999 – U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright found President Bill Clinton in contempt of court for giving “intentionally false” testimony in a lawsuit filed by Paula Jones about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
