29 Nov RELEASE: Utah Democrats Condemn Effort to Overturn 2020 Election Being Supported by Utah Republican Legislators

UTAH DEMOCRATS CONDEMN EFFORT TO OVERTURN 2020 ELECTION BEING SUPPORTED BY UTAH REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS

SALT LAKE CITY, November 29th, 2021 —Last week, a letter repeating debunked right-wing conspiracy theories about the 2020 election was made public. This letter was signed by three current Republican members of the Utah House: Rep. Phil Lyman, Rep. Mike Petersen, and the new House Majority Leader, Rep. Mike Schultz (as well as former Rep. Steve Christiansen).

Not only did the letter support the Big Lie, it went as far as calling for the U.S. House of Representatives to overturn the results of the 2020 election. This rhetoric from any elected official is unacceptable, dangerous, and shameful, but it is especially so from a member of the GOP House leadership team.

“It has been proven over and over that the 2020 election was the safest and most secure in the history of our country. So the fact that Utah Republicans, including the House Majority Leader, are still peddling dangerous conspiracy theories about it more than a year later is truly disturbing,” said Diane Lewis, Interim Chair of the Utah Democratic Party. “These lies are far from harmless: they undermine and threaten our democracy and free and fair elections, and they directly inspired the horrific violence and destruction that we saw at our nation’s Capitol on January 6th.”

The Utah Democratic Party fully and completely condemns this rhetoric, and we call on Speaker Wilson, Governor Cox, and Lt. Governor Henderson to do the same. When it comes to the security of our democracy, every minute that passes without a rejection of these lies from top Republicans is a minute too long.

The Utah Democratic Party is the face and voice of Democrats in the State of Utah. We believe that Utahns deserve strong, competent leadership that puts the people and democracy first.

###