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Situational awareness - June 27, 2018
Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City.
Romney and Curtis roll to easy wins. Hughes resigns from the inland port board. The Supreme Court upholds Trump's travel ban.
I saw an early screening of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp on Tuesday. I can report the movie is a total blast. Funny and inventive, with lots of incredible special effects. See this film!
TICK TOCK
- 132 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 215 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
- 860 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
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HERE ARE THE STORIES WE'RE WATCHING TODAY
Romney reboot
Mitt Romney drubs Rep. Mike Kennedy in their U.S. Senate primary. Romney is now a heavy favorite to win in November [Utah Policy].
Trump tweets
President Donald Trump congratulated Romney on his win early Wednesday morning. "Big and conclusive win by Mitt Romney. Congratulations! I look forward to working together - there is so much good to do. A great and loving family will be coming to D.C." he wrote [Twitter].
Curtis cruises
Rep. John Curtis posts a comfortable win over Chris Herrod, pulling in about 75-percent of the vote on Tuesday [Utah Policy].
Primary roundup
Legislative incumbents were able to fend off primary challenges on Tuesday night. Voters picked nominees in other significant races, too [Utah Policy].
Time to get rid of the convention system
Jared Whitley argues that Romney's huge win over Kennedy proves it's time to junk the caucus/convention system [Utah Policy].
Inland port shuffle
LaVarr Webb says Speaker Greg Hughes did the right thing by withdrawing from the Inland port board, but he almost blew the whole thing up in his attempt to win the chairmanship [Utah Policy].
Consumer attitude
Utahns are confident about the current state of the economy, but they're worried about the future [Utah Policy].
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
- House Speaker Greg Hughes resigns from the inland port board after discovering his property holdings made him ineligible to hold a spot on that body [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Utah gets an extra week to respond to Count My Vote's legal challenge seeking to secure a place on November's ballot [Deseret News].
- A new study suggests Utah's vote-by-mail system is boosting turnout among millennials [Tribune].
- China's decision to no longer import plastic trash from around the world could lead to rising recycling fees across the Wasatch Front [Tribune].
NATIONAL HEADLINES
- National Security adviser John Bolton will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to plan a summit meeting with President Donald Trump [Washington Post].
- President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin may meet next month in Helsinki [Politico].
- A federal judge barred the Trump administration from separating migrant children from their parents at the border and ordered immigration officials to reunite already-separated families within 30 days [Washington Post].
- A group of 18 attorneys general, mostly Democrats, sued the Trump administration over their policy of separating migrant children from their parents, saying the practice is "irrationally discriminatory' [CNN].
- The Supreme Court upheld the Trump administration's travel ban as constitutional in a 5-4 decision [CNN].
- The House is nearing a vote on a compromise immigration bill put forward by House Speaker Paul Ryan. The bill is not expected to pass [ABC News].
- A 28-year old Latina unseated the 4th ranking House Democrat in a primary election on Tuesday [ABC News].
- The Supreme Court ruled California cannot require "crisis pregnancy centers" to give information about the availability of abortion services elsewhere in the state [ABC News].
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
- 1844 - Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS Church, and his brother Hyrum Smith are killed by a mob at the Carthage, Illinois jail.
- 1898 - The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
- 1950 - The U.S. decides to send troops to fight in the Korean War.
- 1974- President Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union.
Today At Utah Policy
Romney cruises to easy win over Kennedy in UtahMitt Romney cruised to an easy victory on Tuesday night over State Rep. Mike Kennedy, clinching the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in Utah. He now moves on to the November election against Democrat Jenny Wilson and a handful of independent candidates. ...
Legislative primary election roundupVoters chose party nominees in several Utah House and Senate races on Tuesday night....
Curtis romps past Herrod in 3rd District GOP primaryIt was last August that then-Provo Mayor John Curtis beat former state Rep. Chris Herrod in a special 3rd Congressional District GOP primary....
Weekly survey: What is acceptable political protest?White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was kicked out of a Virginia restaurant by the owner as a protest against the Trump administration. Do you think that's an acceptable form of political protest? Vote now in our weekly survey....
The Inland Port, so far, is mostly about politicsIf you like politics, you gotta love the inland port project....
Favorable business conditions drive jump in current outlook, but Utahns are less sure about the futureThe Zions Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index (CAI) increased 1.1 points to 111.9 in June. In comparison, the national Consumer Confidence Index decreased 2.4 points to 126.4 this month....
Romney blow-out proves it's time to junk the convention systemIn a news story that is news to absolutely no one, Mitt Romney has won an election in Utah....
Policy News
Rep. Stewart's ACE Act passes the HouseRep. Chris Stewart's (R-Utah) bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4257 the Advancing Conservation and Education (ACE) Act, was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives....
Golden Spike 150th Anniversary Act passes House
The United States House of Representatives passed the Golden Spike 150thAnniversary Act (H. R. 5751). ...
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial: Due process belongs to all, or to no one
What's driving historic spending in downtown Salt Lake City? Restaurants, bars and one big theater.
Gehrke: After 18 months of turmoil, here's why a majority of Utahns are still so loyal to Trump
Utahns favor the ballot initiative expanding Medicaid, even as the state seeks a smaller program
Mitt Romney wins the GOP nomination in Utah's U.S. Senate race
Rep. John Curtis again defeats Trump backer Chris Herrod for GOP nomination in Utah's 3rd District
Utah refugee advocates troubled by Supreme Court's decision to uphold Trump's travel ban
Five takeaways from Utah's primary election
Why activists say the census may be the biggest threat to Utah kids
Deseret News
Op-ed: What happens when the Great Salt Lake dries up?
Derek B. Miller: Let's not forget the real vision of an inland port
Editorial: Red Hen incident reveals a concerning lack of charity
Consumer hope increases slightly in Utah
State gets more time to respond in ballot-initiative case
Travel ban ruling praised by Hatch and Lee, denounced by Utah Muslim leader
U.S. Rep. Curtis victorious in GOP primary for 3rd District
Amid conflict of interest issues, House Speaker Greg Hughes resigns from inland port board
New land board convenes to tackle prison site redo
Mitt Romney claims victory over Mike Kennedy in Utah Senate primary
Cultural offerings the key to downtown economic development, analyst says
Other
Rep. John Curtis situated to beat Chris Herrod in second primary within a year (Daily Herald)
Tanner Ainge, Mike Smith, David Leavitt take big leads in Utah County primary races (Daily Herald)
Waldrip, Andersen and Brown easily win GOP primaries for Utah House seats (Standard-Examiner)
Castillo on track to Democratic primary win in 1st District U.S. House race (Standard-Examiner)
Arbon easily wins GOP primary, on track to become next Weber County sheriff (Standard-Examiner)
Froerer wins primary for Weber Co. Commission seat, beats incumbent Ebert (Standard-Examiner)
Johnson defeats Merrill in GOP primary for House District 4 (Logan Herald Journal)
Mitt Romney routs opponent in Summit County, state (Park Record)
National Headlines
High court OKs Trump's travel ban, rejects Muslim bias claim (Associated Press)
Dem lawmakers seek distance from Waters call for confrontation (The Hill)
FBI agent Peter Strzok dodges Bob Goodlatte's subpoena (Washington Examiner)
'Leave my husband alone': Elaine Chao clashes with immigration protesters (Politico)
Trump awards posthumous Medal of Honor to World War II Army officer (NBC News)
Reality Winner, Accused Of Leaking Classified Documents, Pleads Guilty (NPR)
Supreme Court Backs Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers in Free Speech Case (New York Times)
Melania Trump set for second trip to immigration facilities (CNN)
Leading House Democrat Loses Primary In Major Upset (NPR)
The Supreme Court decision Silicon Valley is reading (Axios)
Why Visa and Mastercard Should Thank the Supreme Court, Too (Wall Street Journal)
Wise Words
Easy
"Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy." Robert A. Heinlein
Lighter Side
Starbucks
"Starbucks just announced that they're closing 150 stores due to low sales. Meanwhile, the Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble was like, "Shhh - I think they forgot about us."" Jimmy Fallon
