This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
It's unclear what political ramifications might come from Ted Cruz's refusal to endorse Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, but there is irony in the whole fiasco.
Cruz walked off the stage to boos and thumbs down when he concluded his speech without endorsing the GOP presidential nominee, and prognosticators are already speculating whether that will hurt the Texas senator's chances for the GOP nod in 2020.
But the Utah contingent, which had earned animosity from many other delegations for refusing to clap or show enthusiasm for most of the convention speakers, suddenly came alive for Cruz.
Their cheers for the Texan — who won Utah's GOP caucus — came amid others' jeers, putting an exclamation mark on the delegation's disdain for Trump and stamping the Utahns as misfits.
The irony? Sen. Mike Lee, one of Cruz's most vociferous supporters, may be in the Senate because of a refusal to endorse a GOP nominee 14 years ago.
When Republicans lined up to run against first-term Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson in 2002, a raucous GOP convention fight erupted among the nearly dozen candidates. In the end, John Swallow and Tim Bridgewater emerged as the two top vote-getters among the delegates and headed to what would be a nasty primary.
Swallow eked out a win in the runoff, but Bridgewater, who felt the victor had unfairly maligned him, refused to endorse the GOP nominee in the general election.
Swallow narrowly lost to Matheson. Some Republicans blamed Bridgewater's lack of endorsement, causing a split in the party, for the defeat.
Fast-forward to 2010. Convention delegates ousted three-term Republican Sen. Bob Bennett and sent Lee and Bridgewater to a primary.
Bridgewater's perceived lack of party loyalty by not endorsing the GOP nominee for Congress eight years earlier became an issue. Lee prevailed and went on to win the Senate seat.
So Bridgewater's lack of endorsement boosted Lee, whose close political ally, Ted Cruz, rocked the convention by not backing Trump.
What goes around comes around?
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Political dangers all over • Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes might be wondering which place might be more dangerous for a Beehive State Republican: the convention in Cleveland or his hometown of Draper.
Although not a delegate, Hughes attended the convention and was with the Utah crowd when one of the delegates said she was threatened by a Trump supporter in the restroom. Another delegate said Carl Paladino, co-chairman of Trump's New York campaign, sent her an email saying she should be "hung for treason."
Utah delegates also had testy run-ins with convention leaders as they tried to stop Trump's nomination. Those tempests, however, might pale compared with the peril Hughes faces when he rides in the Draper Days Parade.
Every year, Hughes said, a group runs up to his car and drenches him and his family with Super Soakers.
This year, the perpetrators went too far.
"The last two years we have enjoyed the participation of a charitable organization called Cycle Ability," Hughes wrote on his Facebook page. "They teach young people with disabilities how to ride bikes and they organize bike camps."
During the recent Draper parade, Hughes and his family invited two of the riders to join them in their vehicle.
"Without regard to who was in the parade with us, these same people again completely soaked every person in the vehicle while yelling, 'Public education rules!' "
Hughes said some of the young disabled kids in the car had electronic equipment that they feared had been damaged by the water.
So much for civility.
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The Mormon candidate? • The Utah delegates may not have gotten their way at the national convention this year, but at least they got some cheering up during their field trip to the historic Kirtland Temple.
The landmark — the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and now run by a splinter sect, the Community of Christ — has a gift shop whose proprietors know how to make a buck.
They were selling "Joseph Smith for President" T-shirts, which Utah delegates were happy to shell out $13 for to take home as souvenirs.