Utah’s GOP lieutenant governor says Trump’s push to ‘muck around with’ the midterms keeps her up at night

Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, a Republican, is publicly condemning efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to influence how states run this year's midterm elections. In an interview with the Utah News Dispatch, she called the push to put the Trump-backed SAVE Act in place before November "despicable," saying its purpose is to keep people from voting. MS NOW reports that she joins other GOP officials, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, in speaking out against the effort.

Henderson has used her office to counter false claims about election fraud made by the president and fellow Republicans. MS NOW reports that she is now the subject of a Justice Department investigation, a situation that follows her refusal, shared with other state officials, to turn over sensitive voter data to federal authorities.

She said Utah made a few small adjustments and found no major problem, but that federal officials do not want to hear that elections are going well because it undercuts a story of mass fraud. She described voting rights as sacred and said that politicians changing the rules to favor one side is what keeps her awake at night.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →