Utah Politics

The coronavirus pandemic will likely end sometime in the next year with news that a vaccine is on the way. In the meantime, Utah lawmakers still must deal with the societal and economic effects.

On this week’s podcast, we speak with Rep. Suzanne Harrison, D-Draper, who is a medical doctor. She discusses whether the state’s response to the pandemic has been effective. And, once a vaccine arrives, how do Utah officials convince people to get inoculated?

Then we’re joined by Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, who was a participant in the Moderna vaccine trial. Researchers say their vaccine will be 94% effective. Eliason talks about his experience getting the vaccination, and the side effects.

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Utah Democrats were feeling good about where they were on election night, but when all the votes were counted, they had lost some key seats, and only increased their numbers by one in the Utah Legislature.

On this week’s “Utah Politics” podcast, we speak with Tribune political reporter Leia Larsen about the Salt Lake County election results. Republicans were able to capture a veto-proof majority on the County Council, which will change the way Jenny Wilson governs as county mayor.

We also hear from Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Merchant who breaks down what happened on election night for Utah’s minority party and what he expects to happen when the Republican-controlled Legislature goes through the redistricting process next year.

Leia Larsen on Twitter: @LeiaLarsen

Jeff Merchant on Twitter: @JeffreyMerchant

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Republican Burgess Owens unseated Democrat Ben McAdams to reclaim the 4th Congressional District for Republicans.

That seat was the biggest prize for Utah Republicans, but they had tons of success all over the ballot, especially in Salt Lake County.

We discuss what went right for the GOP, and where they came up short with Utah GOP Chairman Derek Brown. He talks about how Burgess Owens was able to win and their efforts to get Republican voters to the polls.

Also, Brown talks about whether he plans to run for another term as party chair in 2021.

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Sen. Mitt Romney joins the podcast to discuss what he thinks will happen now that the 2020 election is over. 

Romney says he's alarmed by President Donald Trump's move to fire some defense department officials following his loss last week. 

Romney also discusses the issues Republicans in Congress can work on with President-elect Joe Biden next year, and hints he might run for another term in 2024.

On the post-election edition of the “Utah Politics” podcast, we’re joined by Jason Perry of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.

Perry discusses what happened in Utah on election day, whether Democrat Ben McAdams can hang on in his race against Republican Burgess Owens, and the mini-blue wave that rolled across Salt Lake County. He also talks about how governor-elect Spencer Cox will govern when he takes office in November.

Then, host Bryan Schott is joined by Mark Salter, the longtime aide and confidant of Sen. John McCain. Salter is the author of a new biography of McCain, The Luckiest Man: Life with John McCain.

Salter says he thinks Utah Sen. Mitt Romney will be able to find a way to work in a bi-partisan way with a Biden administration, but he does not think Sen. Mike Lee would be less inclined.

“I think Sen. Romney is at the point in his public life where he gets up every morning and tries to figure out a way to make the country a little better,” says Salter. “Lee is a little too libertarian, and they have a tendency toward zealotry that always concerns me.”

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Election Day 2020 is nearly here.

We're joined by Glen Mills, Senior Political Correspondent for ABC4 and host of Inside Utah Politics to discuss how the voting in Utah might go, and what races to keep an eye on. 

• Utah's 4th District congressional race.
• What impact will Donald Trump have in Utah?
• The Utah legislative races to pay attention to. 
• What Utah's large early vote turnout means.
• Are there really "shy" Trump voters?

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Mitt Romney is “enemy number one” in the Trump administration according to Peter Baker, chief White Houe correspondent for the New York Times. 

“He is loathed in the White House,” says Baker during an interview on the “Utah Politics” podcast. “With [President] Trump, everything is about loyalty, and you’re not allowed to stray from the fold.”

“In the Senate, I think Republicans there respect him. They defended him when Trump went after him. They see him as a principled actor,” he added.

“He’s a party of one,” added Susan Glasser, a staff writer for the New Yorker, and author of the weekly “Letter from Trump’s Washington” column. 

Glasser and Baker are the husband and wife reporting team behind the new biography, The Man who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III.

Glasser says Romney is a throwback to a previous era of politics, and his willingness to stand up to Trump is reminiscent of Sen. Margaret Chase Smith.

“She, of course, was the famous senator who was the lone Republican to stand up to Joseph McCarthy, and it was two years before the Army-McCarthy hearings. She was a party of one for a very long time,” says Glasser. 

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On the Friday edition of the “Utah Politics” podcast, we’re joined by Evan McMullin. 

McMullin was a presidential candidate in 2016. He captured nearly 22% of the vote in Utah just four years ago.

He is now the executive director of Stand Up Republic, a non-profit group dedicated to government reforms. He’s also a frequent guest on cable news programs discussing national security issues.

McMullin joins host Bryan Schott to discuss the impact foreign interference might have on the 2020 election, how QAnon has oozed into the mainstream of Republican politics in America, and why he has endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president even though he was a lifelong Republican. 

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National Journal's Josh Kraushaar joins the podcast to discuss where we stand with less than two weeks to go until Election Day 2020.

He discusses why he thinks Republicans could be in trouble, whether Democrats could pull off a shocking win in Texas, and what to watch for when the polls close.

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Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci frequently begins his day with President Donald Trump attacking him on Twitter. That’s what happened Friday morning shortly before he appeared as a guest on the “Utah Politics” podcast.

“I have to be totally candid. It was unnerving the first time it happened,” said Saramucci to host Bryan Schott. “The second time he did it, I actually enjoyed it. And now, it puts me in a terrifically good mood because it means I’m being effective.”

Trump’s ire was raised after Scully tweeted at Scaramucci earlier this month asking if he should respond to Trump’s attacks on him. Scully originally claimed his Twitter had been hacked, but was suspended after admitting that was a lie. 

Last year, Scaramucci tried to recruit Utah Sen. Mitt Romney to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. Those efforts ultimately proved fruitless. 

“Mitt is a great human being. He would have made an amazing president,” said Scaramucci sounding wistful about his unsuccessful courtship of Romney. 

“Think about this. What if he was elected in 2012? If he had been re-elected in 2016, and we would be ending the Mitt Romney administration right now. Trust me, America would have been a much different place,” he said. 

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