GOP candidates have a new tactic: “I was Trump before Trump was Trump.” Romney to face Kennedy in Utah GOP primary. Lyman wins GOP nod for state House.
Happy Monday. In Republican races across the country, candidates are parroting President Donald Trump as they try to prove to voters that they are cut from the same cloth as he is. They recite the Trump lexicon, spouting his trademark phrases and slurs like “Drain the swamp,” “Build the wall,” “rigged system,” “fake news” and “America first.” In essence, they’re saying they were “Trump before Trump was Trump.” [NYTimes]
Topping the news: Mitt Romney and state Rep. Mike Kennedy are headed to a primary contest after Saturday’s 11-hour Utah GOP Convention. Romney came in second at the convention, with 49 percent of the vote. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV]
-> San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman secured the GOP nomination Saturday to replace retiring state Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab. [Trib]
-> A medical marijuana initiative has gathered enough signatures to be on Utah’s November ballot. [Fox13]
Tweets of the day: From @UribeForbes: “I feel like the GOP convention is trying to lure millennials to their party because millennials can’t resist drama”
-> From @RobertGehrke: “Pro-tip: When your speech is floundering, throw in, ‘We love the Constitution, amiright?!?’“
-> From @pourmecoffee: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the 2016 election.”
In other news: The Utah Legislature passed a bipartisan election reform law this year that could help get more Utahns to the voting booth. [DNews]
-> Utah students participated in walkouts and held a rally on gun violence in schools at the Utah Capitol Friday, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
-> Activists held a rally in West Valley City Saturday to protest police brutality. Law enforcement in Salt Lake County has used lethal force seven times in 2018. [Trib]
-> Salt Lake City is working on a $27 million proposal to improve the city’s historic cemetery. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley depicts who he believes may be the real baby on the U.S. Senate floor after Sen. Orrin Hatch’s baby joke resulted in backlash last week. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly tells the story of Gov. Gary Herbert backing out of a ceremonial bill signing after one state GOP lawmaker wouldn’t commit to how he would vote in Wednesday’s veto override session. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke describes Saturday’s state GOP convention as a marathon, circuslike event. [Trib]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb parse out what insider political issues Utahns should care about. [DNews]
Nationally: The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump on Friday, claiming the Democratic Party was a victim of a conspiracy involving Trump, Russia and WikiLeaks that sabotaged Hillary Clinton’s chance in the 2016 presidential election. [NYTimes]
-> Memos written by former FBI Director James Comey were released Thursday, revealing new details about his relationship with Trump. Here are six takeaways from those memos. [NYTimes]
-> Trump took to Twitter Sunday, incorrectly stating that North Korea agreed to denuclearization and denying that he has given up too much in his negotiations with North Korea. [NYTimes]
-> Trump called his Florida golf club, Mar-a-Lago, the Southern White House this week. He has spent on average one day a week there since he became president. [WaPost]
-> Former first lady Barbara Bush’s funeral was held Saturday in Texas. [WaPost]
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— Thomas Burr and Madalyn Gunnell
Follow @sltribpolitics