Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning Must Reads for Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 292nd day of the year. There are 74 days left in 2016.

Former Gov. Jon Huntsman may run for Senate in 2018 as an independent. Utah GOP Chairman James Evans says he's been on the receiving end of death threats. Another poll shows Utah could be a swing state this year.

The clock:

• Two days to the 3rd Congressional District debate at Utah Valley University (10/19/2016)
• Two days to the third presidential debate at UNLV (10/19/2016)
• 14 days to register to vote online in Utah (11/1/2016)
• 21 days until the 2016 presidential election - (11/8/2016)
• 97 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (1/23/2017)
• 142 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (3/9/2017)

Ten talking points for Tuesday:

1. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman could mount a campaign for Senate in 2018...as an independent candidate [Utah Policy].
   
   
2. Utah GOP Chairman James Evans says he's received death threats after he had suggested President Bill Clinton fathered an illegitimate child with a prostitute during a nationally televised interview. Staffers for the state GOP have been dispersed to different locations as a result [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
   
   
3. Another poll suggests Utah could be a swing state. The Rasmussen survey has Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Evan McMullin in a statistical three-way tie [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
   
   
4. Doug Owens has raised twice as much money for this year's congressional bid than he did during his 2014 campaign [Utah Policy].
   
   
5. Sen. John McCain suggests Senate Republicans would block any Supreme Court nominee put up by Hillary Clinton [Huffington Post].
   
   
6. State Department Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy repeatedly lobbied the FBI to declassify emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server [CNN].
    
7. Melania Trump defended her husband, Donald Trump, saying he was "egged on" in a tape that showed him bragging about sexually assaulting women. She also said allegations of sexual misconduct against her husband were "lies" [CNN]. She also says she hopes to address "negativity" on social media as First Lady [Politico].
   
   
8. Rep. Rob Bishop and his Democratic challenger Peter Clemens clash over public lands and Donald Trump during their debate at Weber State University [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
   
9. An internal poll from Doug Owens' camp suggests his race against Mia Love may be tightening ahead of election day [Tribune].
   
   
10. South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood vetoes an attempt by the city council to strengthen nepotism ordinances. Five relatives of Mayor Wood are currently employed by the city [Deseret News].

On this day in history:

• 1776 - The border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was established. Dubbed the "Mason-Dixon" line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.
• 1867 - The United States completed its purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million, taking possession of the territory from Russia.
• 1962 - Dr. James D. Watson of the United States and Dr. Francis Crick and Dr. Maurice Wilkins of Britain were named winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work in determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.
• 1972 - Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard M. Nixon's veto.

Today At Utah Policy

Hatch, Huntsman Could Make 2018 Senate Race Very Interesting By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Forget the 2016 election mess. The 2018 race for U.S. Senate could get very crowded, and supremely interesting before it's all said and done....

Utah Voters Want Government Close to Home By LaVarr Webb, Publisher The mood of the electorate is always a big factor in any election. And the mood of the electorate in 2016 election is easy to observe – voters are agitated, unhappy, suspicious and anti-establishment....

Why the Supreme Court does not Justify a Vote for Trump By Jordan Garn In a country where some of the best and brightest minds in the world claim domicile, our unfortunate choices for president have come down to a Democrat who seemingly developed temporary cerebral palsy with her finger over the delete button; a Libertarian that couldn’t ...

3 Lessons for Leaders from the Presidential Election By Wesley Smith The 2016 presidential race has been a train wreck. For most of us, it has proven nearly impossible to look away....

GOP Chair James Evans says He's Received Death Threats for Floating Clinton Love Child Story By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Utah GOP Chairman James Evans tells UtahPolicy that since he “was cut off” by CNN anchor Carol Costello on a live broadcast last Thursday he has received a considerable amount of hate mail, even a death threat....

Owens' Fundraising More than Doubles from 2014 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Democrat Doug Owens pulled in a little more than $450,000 during the last fundraising quarter. An impressive number for sure, but it's slightly more than a third of what Republican Mia Love raised during the same period....

Rasmussen Poll Shows Three-Way Presidential Tie in Utah By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor A new survey from Rasmussen Reports shows Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Evan McMullin are in a statistical dead-heat in Utah....

Policy News

DATC and Composites One Partnership Will Help Grow Utah's Composites Industry Utah's efforts to grow the advanced composites industry in the state took a leap forward in September with the announcement that Composites One has entered into a partnership with the Davis Applied Technology College (DATC) in Kaysville to roll out a series of technical summ...

Wise Words

A Little Thing
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Winston Churchill

Lighter Side

Recount
"Al Gore campaigned for Hillary Clinton at a Florida rally attended by 1,600 people. Unfortunately for Gore, a recount showed that it was only 1,300 people." Jimmy Fallon