The Cajun Democrat who could shake up the 2020 presidential race. The 10th Circuit shoots down the Utah GOP’s suit against SB54. Utahns hit their caucus meetings.
Happy Wednesday. The 2020 presidential election isn’t that big on the radar right now, but that doesn’t mean folks aren’t prepping for possible bids for the White House. One of the potential candidates: New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. While the focus remains on some lefty, East Coast hopefuls, the southern, white Landrieu could be a dark horse in the race. [Politico]
Topping the news: The 10th Circuit Court struck down an appeal from the Utah Republican Party, ruling that candidates could use either the caucus system or signature gathering to be eligible for the ballot. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV] [Fox13]
-> A new lawsuit alleges that now-Rep. John Curtis and other Provo leaders ignored complaints of the city’s police chief’s conduct with women. [Trib]
-> Utahns attended their party’s caucuses Tuesday, and Senate hopeful Mitt Romney received a hero’s welcome. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @DavidCornDC: “I’m confused. Is Stormy Daniels a distraction from the Trump-Russia scandal? Or is the Trump-Russia scandal a distraction from Stormy Daniels?”
-> From @ConanOBrien: “Wow, the new President of Russia looks so much like the old President!”
-> From @agardiner14: “Initial thoughts on caucus meeting: All of these videos we are required to watch are BRUTAL.”
Happy birthday: To former Rep. Jim Matheson.
In other news: The Alliance for a Better Utah again called for Utah County Commissioner Greg Graves’ resignation, citing allegations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. [DNews]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert has called on Utah residents who have not filed their taxes to donate money to the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> Herbert also signed 136 more bills into law on Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights. [Trib]
-> The Utah County Commission granted America’s Freedom Festival more than $100,000 in taxpayer funds on the condition that it will not discriminate or exclude any group after an LGBTQ resource center was not able to participate last year. [Trib]
-> The LDS Church donated an out-of-service landfill to Salt Lake City that may end up becoming the locations of the state’s proposed inland port project. [Trib]
-> Police arrested the former Springdale arborist who has been accused of causing nearly $20,000 of damages after being fired from his position. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley depicts a new breed of bloodsuckers. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly argues that Salt Lake City shouldn’t blame lobbyists over the inland port project; they should blame the Legislature. [Trib]
Nationally: Two students have been injured and the suspect died of injuries following a school shooting that took place at a Maryland high school. [WaPost]
-> President Donald Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin on his most recent electoral victory despite warnings by aides in capital letters not to do so. [WaPost]
-> A suspect in the bombings in Austin, Texas blew himself up as police closed in early this morning. [WaPost]
-> An ex-Playboy model has joined Stormy Daniels in alleging Trump had an extra-marital affair. [NYTimes]
-> Cambridge Analytica, the data company best known for its work on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has suspended its CEO after report revealed that he may have been involved in bribery and entrapment. [CNN]
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-- Thomas Burr and Eric Baker
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