This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Utah's Republican Party establishment — or a sizable portion of it — turned up the efforts to help push Donald Trump across the finish line in Utah, a state that polls show could be up for grabs for the first time in more than a half-century.
Hillary Clinton's campaign, meanwhile, countered with a morning appearance by actor Sean Astin — best known for his roles in "The Lord of The Rings," "The Goonies," and "Rudy" — encouraging Clinton backers to take advantage of early voting to make sure they cast their ballots.
And Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, who was polling as high as 14 percent in Utah before independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin got into the race, was in Utah before leaving on a six-day, six-state swing of rallies from Portland, Ore., to Atlanta.
Johnson dismissed McMullin's chances to win Utah and said that only being on the ballot in 11 states, he has no shot at actually becoming president. "That's not going to happen. He's not going to win Utah," the former New Mexico governor said.
And he offered a bleak prediction for the future, regardless of whether Clinton or Trump win next week.
"I think that if Hillary Clinton is elected, the drumbeat from Day One will be impeachment, whether it happens or not, it will be the drumbeat," Johnson said, both because of the ongoing FBI investigation into her email security and "just the Wikileaks stuff, oh my gosh. And then Trump, I think, that's a disaster, too. Just his policies themselves are going to be horrible for the country."
Johnson was resigned Tuesday to not winning the election, or even winning Utah, saying he was unable to compete after being excluded from the debates and having just $12 million to spend — compared to about $1 billion spent by Trump and Clinton. But he said he garnered the endorsement of six newspapers and talked about issues that politicians 10 years from now will have to address.
Meantime, Republican leaders held a rally at the State Capitol attended by about 150 die-hard supporters eager to help Trump win back supporters from McMullin and secure Utah's six electoral votes next week.
"[Trump] is tough, he's smart, he knows how to make decisions. He doesn't take any crap from anybody and he's exactly what we need right now," said Sen. Orrin Hatch. "He's no choir boy, but I'll tell you something, I've noticed a change as he's gotten more and more serious. It is a terrific change."
"To really know Hillary Clinton is to want anybody other than her," Hatch said.
Trump's Utah chairman and family friend, Don Peay, said he has talked to the campaign and doesn't anticipate any more Trump surrogates visiting Utah. Vice presidential nominee Mike Pence was a heavy hitter and Peay said that internal polling he has seen indicates Trump will win, not only Utah, but the national election.
A poll for The Salt Lake Tribune conducted last week showed Trump leading McMullin in Utah, but by just 2 percent — 32 percent to 30 percent — a lead that is within the margin of error. Clinton is lagging behind at 24 percent.
Astin, an actor, Clinton supporter and surrogate for the campaign, said he was happy to be in Utah as a battleground state. McMullin, Astin said, was impressive when he saw him on television and said he is "a smart guy."
"I thought, 'Man, a solid third party would be fantastic in this country,'" he said. "But next Tuesday, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be elected president. And if you don't vote for Hillary Clinton, you'll have to live with that."
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon stressed that Democrats in the state are outnumbered and need to make sure they support Clinton and other Democrats, noting that, in the past, Democrats have lost races by just a few dozen votes.
"Your vote matters," said Corroon, quoting Astin's character in The Lord of The Rings: Two Towers: "There's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for."
Many of the comments at the Trump rally were aimed at tamping down any lingering concerns about Trump's comments during a 2005 Access Hollywood interview where he bragged of sexually aggressive behavior, including grabbing women by their genitals.
The video was the last straw for Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Mia Love, who called on Trump to get out of the race, and Gov. Gary Herbert, who also withdrew his support of Trump.
About 15 women, some holding signs that read "I'm a Mormon for Trump. Why aren't you?" stood on the steps behind the speakers. Former Rep. Enid Mickelsen drew loud applause and tried to address the topic, saying she understands the concern and the idea of voting for a third-party candidate.
"I want those girls to grow up in a society that respects them. [But] I loathe what Hillary Clinton has done to women and more than that I loathe what Hillary Clinton has done as a woman to protect her husband's actions," Mickelsen said to shouts from the audience of "Bill's a rapist!"
She said the Clintons specialized in "destroying the lives of the women who have the courage to come forward," and acted as an enabler to her husband. "Hillary said women who step forward, they shouldn't be believed," Mickelsen said.
Mickelsen said in an interview after that the attacks on Bill Clinton's accusers were different than Trump threatening to sue women who claim he assaulted them, or disparaging them at rallies and on social media because the Clintons were more nasty, dismissive and public.
Mickelsen said that, of the 17 Republicans who vied for the party's nomination, Trump wasn't among her top 15 choices, but she's come around and now supports him as the next president.
Former Senate candidate Cherilyn Bacon Eagar said voters who back McMullin are "stealing votes from the moral choice and giving them to the crooked choice," and said Trump has "brought down" the mainstream media conspiracy.
Do we want people crossing the border, "bringing crime and drugs and harming our children?" she asked, to shouts of "Build the wall!"
Hatch, a longtime ranking member and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the next president will appoint four and perhaps even five Supreme Court justices, including a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, reshaping the face of the court.
"She'll pick someone who is the direct opposite of that great justice," Hatch said of Scalia.
Asked if he believes the Senate — which has blocked the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland for nine months — will move to confirm justices nominated by Clinton if she wins the election, Hatch just said: "We'll have to see."
Rep. Rob Bishop said that the notion that McMullin could ever become president is a "flight of fancy," and voting for him helps Clinton defeat Trump. Bishop said he doesn't condone what Trump has said about marriage, "but this election isn't about Mr. Trump's past; it's about our future."
Rep. Chris Stewart said that, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, he is probably the only person in Utah who has seen the emails Clinton had on her private server, and said they constitute a "grave" breach of national security.
He said if those emails fell into the wrong hands they would compromise the identities of confidential assets and other classified information.
And Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans sought to discredit a phone call Utahns began receiving this week from William Johnson, the leader of the white nationalist American Freedom Party, where he calls McMullin a closeted homosexual who will open America's borders to criminal migrants.
Trump has nothing to do with white nationalists, said Evans, who is black, adding "If that were the case, I wouldn't be standing here."
Twitter: @RobertGehrke