This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Upstart conservative presidential candidate Evan McMullin will be on Utah's November ballot as an independent after his campaign rounded up more than 2,000 signatures in four days to qualify for the election.
Utah becomes the second state where McMullin, a Provo-born Brigham Young University graduate and former CIA counterterrorism operative, will be on the ballot.
He has already qualified in Colorado.
McMullin adviser Brian Henderson said the campaign will strive to qualify in as many states as possible where deadlines haven't passed and will seek to be a minor party's nominee in some states — like in Minnesota, where the Independence Party has invited him to be the candidate if he can gather the required signatures.
In some states, the campaign will sue to try to get a spot on the ballot. Those suits have not been filed.
Henderson said 100 volunteers fanned out to gather Utah signatures, beginning Wednesday and finishing Sunday. State law requires a candidate to collect 1,000 signatures to qualify, and the campaign submitted more than 2,200 from Salt Lake County alone.
Said Henderson: "Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton do indeed have a problem in Utah — both of them — and his name is Evan McMullin and the people who support him and will support his campaign."