Happy Earth Day from Salt Lake City. Today is the 113th day of the year. There are 253 days left in 2016.
Republicans reject proposed rules changes for their national convention. Some GOP delegates are getting death threats from Trump supporters. A new study finds Utah delegates are more politically extreme than regular voters.
The clock:
The Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions are tomorrow (4/23/2016)
67 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
87 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
94 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
200 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
276 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
321 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Friday:
Donald Trump‘s new campaign manager says Trump recognizes the need to change his public image if he ends up winning the GOP nomination [New York Times].
Republicans reject proposed rules changes for the national convention that would make it harder to introduce a candidate for nomination who isn’t already in the race [Politico, New York Times].
Some GOP delegates are getting death threats from Donald Trump supporters if they don’t support Trump at the GOP Convention in Cleveland [Politico].
The remaining GOP candidates start to compile lists of possible VP candidates [Washington Post].
A new Utah Foundation study finds that Utah Republican and Democratic convention delegates are more politically extreme than rank and file voters [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
The battle for the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial nominations will be front and center at Saturday’s conventions [Deseret News].
Former Utah Sen. Bob Bennett, already suffering from cancer, had a stroke last week [Deseret News].
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is not worried that a Donald Trump candidacy will permanently damage the Republican party [Huffington Post].
Rep. Kraig Powell explains on Facebook why he abruptly dropped out of his legislative race [Utah Policy].
1864 – Congress authorized the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins.
1889 – About 20,000 homesteaders massed along the border of the Oklahoma Territory, awaiting the signal to start the Oklahoma land rush.
1915 – During World War I, German forces became the first to use poison gas on the Western Front.
1970 – Earth Day was first observed.
1983 – The West German news magazine Stern announced the discovery of personal diaries purportedly written by Adolf Hitler that turned out to be a hoax.