Utah Republicans drop support for protest vote

(KUTV) “Utah's six electoral college votes matter and Republicans are finally ready to unite.”

Congressman Rob Bishop worked today to unite his party.

After weeks of on again, off again support for Trump -- many of Utah’s elected officials say their nominee is not as bad as they thought

“Donald Trump is no choir boy,” said Utah Senior Senator Orrin Hatch, but he knows Hillary Clinton and believes she cannot be President.

“We are not voting for the pope,” reminded another at a rally at Utah’s State Capitol. “We are voting for a President.”

Utah republicans who were bashing Trump and looking for another candidate last month are now saying the only way to preserve a conservative future for America is to vote for Trump.

Tuesday's Trump rally did not dance around Utah’s three-way split of the presidential vote as rallies in the past have tried.

“Jesus is not on the ballot! And Evan McMullin -- you are not Utah’s Savior,” the line came with chant’s for Trump.

Congressman Chris Stewart confessed to the crowd, that he voted for Trump. It is a fact that may come as a shock to many, since he demanded Trump step aside three weeks ago and let Pence lead the ticket.

“The ballot mailed to me sat on my desk for a few days,” said Stewart. “l looked at it every morning and every night, but it is time for Republicans to come home.”

Stewart believes the Supreme Court is one of the important issues that Utah voters should think about while voting.

Bishop admitted that he too thought about voting third party and watching the race go to the house for a vote as well, “I have those flights of fancy myself and then the alarm clock rings -- and I have to wake up.”

“I even flirted a little when that tape came out just like Chris Stewart did,” said former Utah Congresswoman Enid Green Mickelson.

She like many others thought, “about registering a protest vote,” but when the race tightened Mickelson said she no longer felt like protesting was an option.

“It is no longer possible for someone to say I’m going to register a protest vote because my vote isn't going to matter.”

It matters she says and the thought, “I won't be responsible for either being in the White House,” is not the way to go.

Utah legislator Jake Anderegg was one of the few Utahn’s to publicly endorse Evan McMullin on the steps of the State Capitol in October, “I sat here 3 weeks ago with Evan McMullin, I stood up here on these steps” he said "And yet I’m here today, supporting Trump. In fact I voted for Trump.” Anderegg said he liked the idea of McMullin denying Clinton and Trump the chance at reaching 270 electoral votes. He changed his mind he said, When McMullin started bashing Republicans.

Bottom line, today’s rally of Republicans boomeranging their vote, comes down to “what's at stake.”

Senator Hatch said there are at least four US Supreme Court seats that could be up for grabs in the coming years. The last few years have not been good he says and “we have got to turn this mess around.”

Utah's senior senator has backed Trump all along -- he has nothing against McMullin -- he just doesn't want you to vote for him.

“A vote for him is a vote for Hillary Clinton.”