SEN. MIKE LEE: TOO RADICAL FOR UTAH?

I was surprised by this because I considered Utah to be a bone-deep Red State.

In Utah, tea party favorite Sen. Lee faces GOP backlash over government shutdown
By Philip Rucker, Published: October 22
WASHINGTON POST

Spencer Zwick, a Utah native and national finance chairman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, was more direct, calling Lee a “show horse” who “just wants to be a spectacle.”

“Business leaders that I talk to, many of whom supported him, would never support his reelection and in fact will work against him, myself included,” Zwick said.

A Brigham Young University survey conducted during the shutdown found that 57 percent of Utahans wanted Lee to be more willing to compromise. The senator’s approval rating dropped to 40 percent — down from 50 percent in June — with 51 percent disapproving.

One beneficiary could be Thomas Wright, who stepped down this spring as chairman of the Utah Republican Party. Wright said he is considering running against Lee in 2016 because he has grown “exasperated” with the junior senator’s governing style.

“We can’t keep going on like this,” Wright said. “I want to work with people to get things done. I want to go be a leader and build bridges, not burn them down.”