The United Utah Party has organized and is hoping to get on the ballot by the end of May 2017 | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, posted this information on the new party:

The United Utah Party has organized and is hoping to get on the ballot by the end of May 2017. See this story. If it does so, presumably it can participate in the upcoming special U.S. House election. There is probably a substantially overlap between the people who formed this party, and the people who backed Evan McMullin’s presidential campaign last year. The party needs 2,000 valid signatures. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.

The United Utah Party is picking off supporters from the major parties according to . It has designs on carving out a space at the center of American the political scene:

The United Utah Party plans to hold open primaries and lower the threshold for candidates to get on the ballot in convention. It also supports term limits for statewide and legislative offices, stricter campaign finance laws and an independent redistricting commission.

The party platform calls for free religious expression, endorses the right to own guns, favors increased education spending and supports abortion in the case of rape, incest and danger to the mother.

Evan McMullin is a “former CIA operations officer who ran as an independent during the 2016 United States presidential election” hoping to draw anti-Trump Republicans. His largest successes were in Utah and rumours of him running for congress in Utah continue:

McMullin, a Republican turn independent last year, and who described himself as a conservative alternative to Republican Donald Trump, has been vocal about plans to run for public office again. And Utah GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz announcing his resignation last week adds to speculation about McMullin perhaps gearing up to run for that seat.