Saturday, November 5, 2016

Kellen Wilson Makes an Argument that Could Impact Utah's Vote

   Kellen Wilson, writing a letter to the Deseret News from his home far away in Georgia, makes a point that might change the outcome of the presidential vote here in Utah, if voters could just read what he says.
   "There is no scenario where a McMullin win in Utah helps Clinton win the presidency," Wilson writes. And, he is correct, in that. If McMullin pulls enough votes to take Utah's six Electoral College votes, then there is no way it helps Clinton. The only way Clinton wins the presidency is if she gets 270 Electoral College votes. If McMullin wins, no votes are added to Clinton's total. And, if neither Trump nor Clinton win 270 votes, the race goes to the U.S. House of Representatives to be decided. Since Republicans are in control there, Hillary still can't win.
   The trick is, McMullin has got to win Utah, or, if he doesn't, Trump has still got to have enough votes to take the state. Kellen Wilson is wrong when he says "Switching your support from Trump to McMullin in NO WAY helps Clinton." It just takes a plurality to capture Utah's six Electoral College votes. If enough voters drop Trump for McMullin that it leaves Clinton with a plurality, she does, indeed, benefit.
   But, the polls having shown McMullin having been close enough to taking the Utah vote, knowing that his winning cannot help Hillary could have pushed him over the top. If Utah voters realized that, many still on board with Trump would have been inclined to switch to McMullin.
   In the last few days, though, Trump has gone way up in the polls, and McMullin has sunk. It appears Utah voters are now accepting the notion they must vote for "the lesser of two evils" to avoid a Hillary win. I wish, instead, they would realize a McMullin victory is in sight and vote for him.

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