Free Republic

ALT LAKE CITY — A new rule could kick out Mitt Romney and other candidates from their Utah Republican Party memberships. The Utah Republican Party is trying to decide who can be part of the organization. Under a new bylaw passed Saturday, Feb. 24, any Republican candidate who accepts signatures while on route to the primary election, will lose their party membership. Utahpolicy.com reports the central committee backed the change, while party chairman Rob Anderson opposed. The committee adopted one set of rules for the 1st and 2nd U.S House districts and a separate set of rules for the 3rd...

A man was arrested early Saturday morning after police said he barricaded himself inside a home and took a 99-year-old woman hostage... Wasden and Velasquez spent the next four hours in the home, as Velasquez negotiated with police through the door. Ultimately, it was Wasden who finally convinced him to release her unharmed around 3:30 a.m. after she gave him a lecture about not making a mess, Gabbard said. "He was rifling through the drawers, making a mess, spilling things all over and she has her 100th birthday party one week from today," Gabbard said. "And her words to him...

More than two dozen Senate Republicans are urging President Trump to re-engage in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The 25 GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Friday saying they support his recent comments that he may consider U.S. participation if the 11-nation Asia-Pacific pact is improved.

SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney became the instant front-runner when he announced his U.S. Senate campaign last week, as a new poll shows him with a commanding lead four days into the race. A Utahpolicy.com poll released Tuesday shows 60 percent of Utahns would vote for the former Massachusetts governor among declared and possible candidates for the office. Only Democratic Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson polled in double digits, with a meager 14 percent. Libertarian Craig Bowden and Rep. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who has not entered the race, fared the best among the rest at 3 percent and...

Mitt’s back. The former governor of Massachusetts and occasional native son of Michigan has a new persona: Mr. Utah. He’s going to bring Utah conservatism to the whole Republican party and to the country at large. Wholesome, efficient, industrious, faithful. “Utah has a lot to teach the politicians in Washington,” he says in announcing his Senate campaign. Maybe.

President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s run for a U.S. Senate seat in Utah, despite Romney often being critical of Trump.

@MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement! 9:21 PM - 19 Feb 2018

WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell said in an interview on Friday afternoon that President Trump should rally behind the Senate candidacy of Mitt Romney despite his blistering criticism in 2016, arguing that Mr. Romney’s potent bid was an illustration of the Republican Party’s improving fortunes entering a challenging midterm campaign. “I can’t imagine that he’s not,” Mr. McConnell said when asked whether Mr. Trump was comfortable with Mr. Romney, who on Friday made official his long-expected candidacy for a Senate seat from Utah. “We don’t want to lose the seat, and this looks like a pretty formidable candidate.” Mr. McConnell,...

Mitt Romney, after announcing his Republican bid for Senate in Utah, called for “action” following the Florida high school shooting that left 17 dead. Romney called the shooting “senseless, debased evil.” “I think we can’t just sit and wait and hope for things to get better,” the former GOP presidential candidate said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. “It is wrong and unacceptable for children in our schools to fear for their lives.”

Mitt Romney, the GOP’s presidential candidate in 2012 and a former governor of Massachusetts, announced Friday that he would run for U.S. Senate in Utah. “I have decided to run for United States Senate because I believe I can help bring Utah’s values and Utah’s lessons to Washington,” Romney said in a video announcing his bid. “Given all that America faces, we feel that this is the right time for me to serve our state and our country,” he said. Romney pointed to Utah's balanced budget and trade surplus as examples of the state's strengths, comparing them with Washington's debt...

In more ways than one, followers of traditional Republican orthodoxy are facing an emotional inflection point this week. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), at home battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, will not attend this weekend’s Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of foreign policy leaders from NATO nations that has become a central clearinghouse for global security matters and a celebration of Western values and democratic institutions. McCain, an avatar of all of the above, has been a regular attendee for decades. Last year, less than a month after President Trump took office, he stole the show with a...

As a father and grandfather, my heart aches for the victims of today’s tragic events. My prayers go out to all of the families and loved ones affected by this senseless act of violence. (1/2) Out of respect for the victims and their families, I will not be making an announcement tomorrow about the Senate race. (2/2)

Mitt Romney will launch his Utah Senate campaign Thursday morning with a low key announcement on social media, and will make his first public appearance a day later near Salt Lake City with a keynote address to a gathering of grassroots Republicans.

No company has applied to mine within the former boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument since President Donald Trump’s cut to national monuments went into effect, The Washington Examiner reported Thursday. Trump announced he was rolling back Utah’s Bears Ears by about 85 percent in December. The cuts went into effect last week, causing critics to claim mining companies would begin staking claims and applying for mining permits within the area.

WEST HAVEN, Utah -- When Natalie Richard’s sixth-grade daughter told her she couldn’t say “no” if a boy asked her to dance at Kanesville Elementary’s Valentine’s Day dance, she didn’t believe it at first. “Oh no, no honey," Richard said of her reply. "You guys are misunderstanding again. That’s not how it is." However, after speaking to her daughter’s teacher, she realized the statement was accurate.

The conservative pol, 43, who was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012, has three children with his wife, LeeAnne. Last year, he voted in favor of stricter laws on prostitution, including hiking the penalty for soliciting sex to $2,500.

Republican Utah lawmaker Jon Stanard has unexpectedly resigns from the Legislature. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican Utah lawmaker Jon Stanard has unexpectedly resigned from the Legislature. House Speaker Greg Hughes announced Wednesday morning that the representative from St. George resigned Tuesday night "due to personal and family concerns." Hughes did not offer details but said legislators are honoring Stanard's request for privacy and wish him the best. House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley said in a text message that Stanard was not facing any kind of legislative investigation or disciplinary action. Stanard did not respond to a voicemail seeking...

A Utah police officer who was being attacked on Friday was saved by a passerby with a concealed pistol, officials said. The unidentified police officer confronted the attacker, identified as Paul Douglas Anderson, after spotting feet dangling from a donation bin in Springville, FOX13 Salt Lake City reported on Saturday. Anderson got out of the bin, but refused to remove his hands from his pocket. The officer ordered Anderson to remove his hands out of his pockets. Anderson eventually took his hands out of his pants’ pockets and began repeatedly punching the officer in the face.

Lifelong Southern Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, recently cleared of federal charges and freed from jail after nearly two years, has turned his sights on state and county government. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Clark County District Court, Bundy claimed that former resident Barack Obama’s late 2016 establishment of Gold Butte National Monument, which occurred while the rancher was in federal custody, was “as illegal as it is unlawful” and would preclude him from continuing to function on his land and destroy his livelihood. ... “Recognizing that the land is not owned by the United States of America, (Bundy) has...

Mitt Romney signaled that he is moving toward a run for a US Senate seat from Utah, tweeting Thursday that he will make a formal announcement about his plans on February 15. "Looking forward to making an announcement on February 15th about the Utah Senate race," he tweeted.