- Sutherland Institute President Boyd Matheson says he’s considering a 2018 primary challenge for the seat currently held by Sen. Orrin Hatch [Utah Policy].
- Former White House strategist Steve Bannon is planning to get involved in Utah’s 2018 Senate race by recruiting a candidate to take on Sen. Orrin Hatch next year [Utah Policy].
- PODCAST: On this week’s “Beg to Differ” podcast a discussion of whether Ben McAdams could mount a credible challenge to Rep. Mia Love in 2018, the debate over gun control and a conversation with Jim Bennett, 3rd CD candidate from the United Utah Party [Utah Policy].
- The new Utah GOP leadership is sending out online surveys to party members to get a sense of which direction the party should take on a number of issues, but Bob Bernick says they’re using loaded questions [Utah Policy].
- Our “Political Insiders” say the Count My Vote ballot initiative to dump the caucus/convention system has the best chance of making the ballot in 2018 and being approved by voters [Utah Policy].
- Ouch! Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is apologizing for endorsing current Mayor Jackie Biskupski during the 2015 campaign. Anderson slammed Biskupski on a Facebook message saying she has failed on the homeless issue and has acted like an “entitled, ego-driven politician” [KUTV].
- Democratic Rep. Brian King plans to introduce legislation next year to ban the sale of so-called “bump stocks” following the Las Vegas massacre [Tribune].
- Republican 3rd CD candidate John Curtis launches a new campaign website [Deseret News].
- Rep. Rob Bishop introduces legislation to limit the size of any national monument created under the Antiquities Act to 640 acres [Deseret News].
- Newly confirmed ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman discusses how to improve relations between the U.S. and that country [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Groups including Black Lives Matter march to protest the shooting of a black man by Salt Lake City police. The shooting of Patrick Harmon was deemed legally justified by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill [Deseret News, Tribune].
- The University of Utah is weighing a policy change that would make student groups who bring controversial speakers to campus shoulder some of the costs for security [Deseret News].
- Provo is poised to elect that city’s first woman mayor in 157 years [Tribune].
