FILE: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during a hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, nominee to be Attorney General, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Photo Credit: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via AP, Pool.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new poll from the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics shows Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, with a handy lead over his Republican challengers.
Lee faces re-election in 2022 and has two other Republican rivals plus Independent and Democratic challengers.
The poll shows if Republicans held their primary election today, 53% of voters would choose Lee; 7% indicated they would vote for former Utah legislator Becky Edwards; 2% would pick campaign strategist, Ally Isom.
The Deseret News spoke with challenger Isom who said she’s encouraged by the numbers, stating Lee is vulnerable because Utahns want someone who will put people above politics.
Edwards also told the Deseret News the numbers give her hope. “We’re feeling really optimistic about where we are and how people are continuing to join the campaign,” she said.
Both Isom and Edwards cited another poll from October which showed Lee’s approval rating dropped to 45%, with 34% of those polled disapproving of his performance in the Senate.
A big obstacle for next year’s challengers are their gender and race. The two GOP candidates going against Lee are women, and Democratic challenger Nick Mitchell, is Black. However, Utah has never elected a woman or minority to the U.S. Senate, reported the Deseret News.