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🌤️ 62 – 95° in Logan

🌤️ 76 – 100° in Salt Lake

🌤️ 80 – 104° in St. George | 💧 10%

In the two weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris assumed the role of presumptive Democratic nominee, she seemed to be making plays for moderate or conservative voters. She softened on some of her progressive policy stances, launched the “Republicans for Harris” initiative and paraded endorsements from some Republican officeholders.

Then, she named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

To some, the Walz pick is a signal that Harris is trying to energize the progressive flank of her party, not engage the swath of moderate and conservative voters who won't vote for former President Donald Trump.

Read more about how moderate voters feel about Harris picking Walz as her running mate.

Also on our minds:

These are Utah’s ‘blue zones’ — places where people are living the longest
U.S. credit card debt just hit an all-time high, and interest rates aren't helping
Officials say a Pakistani national was connected to Trump assassination plot

Democrat Brian King makes appeal to disillusioned Republicans in bid to unseat Gov. Spencer Cox

Democratic state Rep. Brian King said he waded into Utah’s gubernatorial election this year because he believes the Republican Party’s decades-long monopoly on state politics is beginning to show cracks.

Running against Republican Gov. Spencer Cox in a state that regularly elects GOP incumbents by more than 30 percentage points is a “David versus Goliath kind of a situation,” King said. As the former state House minority leader, he understands this better than most. But, like in the biblical story, King believes history is on his side.

“If you have one party controlling both the executive and the legislative branches for 40 years ... you’re going to not have the best results in terms of policies and priorities and a vision that takes into account all the perspectives and all the diversity of the state of Utah,” King told the Deseret News editorial board on Monday.

Read more about where King stands on the issues facing Utahns.

Will Harris' momentum affect the West’s toss-up Senate seats?

Vice President Kamala Harris’ rapid rise to the top of Democratic ticket hasn’t just reset the 2024 presidential election — it may have changed the battle over the Senate majority taking place in the West.

Nevada, Arizona and Montana are three of a handful of “toss-up” Senate seats Democrats are defending to retain a majority in Congress’ upper chamber where they currently govern with 47 Democratic senators plus four independents compared to Republicans’ 49.

In all three Western states, the Democratic incumbents polled far ahead of their party’s previous presidential nominee, President Joe Biden, sparking fears the aging candidate would be a drag on down ballot races, costing Democrats not only the presidency but the Senate as well.

But former President Donald Trump’s 6-percentage-point lead over Biden in the purple states of Arizona and Nevada appears to have been cut in half or eliminated after Biden dropped out of the running and Harris received support from the party establishment. Voters looking for a more electable alternative to Trump now have somewhere to go — a fact that could boost Democratic turnout.

Read more about the latest polling data.

More in Politics

At least 99 people on terrorist watchlist have entered U.S. illegally under Biden-Harris administration (Deseret News)
Jay Evensen: U.S. debt passes $35 trillion. Who cares? (Deseret News)
What Tim Walz has said about his faith (Deseret News)

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Utah

A car with a baby inside was stolen in Utah Monday. How often does that happen? (Deseret News)
Gov. Cox denies Honie’s request to delay execution (Deseret News)
Utah officials identify 51-year-old man missing in Willard Bay swimming incident (KSL)
Where are Utah’s ‘blue zones’ — places people are living the longest? (Deseret News)

The West

Radioactive waste and the Colorado River. A dangerous situation nears resolution (Deseret News)
Photo gallery: Maui now and then (Deseret News)

The U.S.

X sues group of advertisers over alleged illegal ad boycott (Deseret News)
Consumer credit card debt hits all-time high of $1.14 trillion (Deseret News)

The World

Rocket attack on Al Asad Airbase in Iraq injures 7 U.S. personnel (Deseret News)
Pakistani national found to have connection to assassination plot, may have targeted Trump (Deseret News)

Olympics

‘She has a lot to be proud of’: A closer look at Courtney Wayment’s Olympic steeplechase final (Deseret News)
What Whittni Morgan said about her experience at the Olympics (Deseret News)
Italian gold medalist seen sleeping in park after complaining about Olympic Village conditions (Deseret News)

Sports

‘Has all the traits that you look for in a tight end’: Why former BYU basketball forward Caleb Lohner is playing football at Utah (Deseret News)
What does UCLA transfer linebacker Choe Bryant-Strother bring to the BYU defense? (Deseret News)
Why Jalen Royals remained true to the Aggies (Deseret News)
Report: Lauri Markkanen ‘expected’ to reach long-term extension with Jazz (Deseret News)

Faith

What surprised a British journalist after spending time with Latter-day Saints (Deseret News)
The Buddhist moment on ‘The Bachelorette’ — and why it matters (Deseret News)

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel