Trump nominates Huntsman to be ambassador to Russia. Your Wednesday morning political briefing from UtahPolicy.com

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 200th day of the year. There are 165 days remaining in 2017.

Utahns don't think the Utah GOP should endorse candidates in primary elections. Donald Trump finally nominates Jon Huntsman to be ambassador to Russia. Trump had another previously undisclosed meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit.

The clock:

• 6 days until ballots for the August primary are mailed to voters (7/25/2017)
• 27 days until the 2017 Utah primary election (8/15/2017)
• 111 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
• 187 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 232 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 475 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,203 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• NEW POLL: Utahns say the Utah GOP should not endorse candidates in primary elections, no matter which route they used to get on the primary ballot. However, Utah Republican voters are divided on the issue [Utah Policy].
   
• Democrat Kathie Allen's monster fundraising machine has slowed down significantly, but she's still outpacing any and all Republicans in Utah's 3rd CD [Utah Policy].
   
• President Donald Trump has officially nominated former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to be ambassador to Russia. Huntsman called for Trump to drop out of the presidential race after the Access Hollywood tapes, where Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women, came to light [Utah Policy, Reuters].
   
• 3rd District candidate Chris Herrod scores an endorsement from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz may come to Utah to campaign for Herrod, too [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Sen. Orrin Hatch is upset that Senate Republicans "blinked" in the showdown over a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Sen. Mike Lee wants to repeal the bill now and replace it later [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• A left-leaning group is suing the Utah attorney general's office because they claim the AG is hiding information about their work with conservative political organizations [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Salt Lake Mayor Jackie Biskupski lays out her plan to address the homeless problem in the Rio Grande area [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Organizers of the Our Schools Now ballot initiative, which seeks to boost school funding through a sales and income tax hike, will hold a second round of public hearings around the state because the legal notice for their previous meetings did not comply with state law [Tribune].
   
• Officials with the Provo Freedom Festival is refusing to completely explain why they removed an LGBTQ group from their July 4 parade at the last minute, claiming they were well within their legal rights to do so [Daily Herald].
   
• Rep. Mia Love sees a bipartisan opportunity for Congress to work on criminal justice reform [Deseret News].

National headlines:

• Uh oh! President Donald Trump had another undisclosed meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit. Trump sat and spoke with Putin for more than an hour with Putin while the only other person at the meeting was Putin's translator, which is a major breach of security protocol [Associated Press].
   
• Bad news for the GOP. Just 12% of the people who helped propel Donald Trump into the White House favor the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare [NBC News].
   
• Here's how the Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare collapsed [New York Times].
   
• President Trump now says he wants to let Obamacare fail in the wake of the Senate's inability to pass a replacement for the health care law [New York Times].
   
• Republicans in Congress are hoping to increase their numbers in next year, which they hope will help their efforts to get rid of Obamacare [Washington Post].
   
• The eighth person in the Trump Tower meeting between a Russian lawyer and Donald Trump Jr. has been identified as a U.S.-based employee of a Russian real estate company [Washington Post].
   
• President Donald Trump wants a corporate tax rate "in the 20s" as part of his tax reform proposal [Politico].
   
• We're finally starting to hear rumblings about Donald Trump's long-promised "secret plan" to fight ISIS [Daily Beast].
   
• The U.S. military is paying $130,000/month to lease space in Trump Tower [Wall Street Journal].

On this day in history:

• 1969 - Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, went into orbit around the moon.
   
• 1979 - The Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrilas.
   
• 1989 - A United Air Lines DC-10 crashed while making an emergency landing at Sioux city, Iowa, killing 112 people; 184 survived.
   
• 1993 - President Bill Clinton announced the "don't ask, don't tell" policy which allowed homosexuals to serve in the military, but not openly.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: Utahns say the GOP should not endorse candidates in a primary election
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
A majority of Utahns say the state Republican Party should not endorse candidates before the party primary election determines its nominees, a new UtahPolicy.com poll by Dan Jones & Associates finds....

Democrat Kathie Allen's fundraising has slowed down, but she's still outpacing the GOP candidates
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
 Democrat Kathie Allen's fundraising machine has slowed down, but she's still raking in big bucks....

President Trump will officially nominate Jon Huntsman as ambassador to Russia
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
After months of waiting, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday he will officially nominate former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. as ambassador to Russia....

Weekly survey: What will happen to Obamacare?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
This week the GOP effort to repeal and replace Obamacare collapsed because the Senate did not have enough votes. What do you think Congress will ultimately do with the health care law? Vote in our weekly survey. (function(t,e,o,s){var n,c,r;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElemen...

Policy News

Salt Lake City Schools awarded over $300,000 for fresh fruit and vegetable program
During the coming school year, students at many Salt Lake City School District elementary schools will benefit from a federal grant designed to increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption among students. ...

Hatch emphasizes eommitment to repealing Obamacare, Highlights consequences of failing to do so
In a speech on the Senate floor, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) emphasized despite a frustrating process his commitment to keeping his promise to repeal Obamacare and highlighted the devastating consequences if Congress fails to do so....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: The $50 million in waste lurking in Utah's budget

Editorial: What we are doing about homelessness is not enough

West Valley City to spring for half a million dollars if Frito-Lay expands on its Utah plant

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt comes to Utah, says he'll reconsider new pollution mandates at two coal-fired power plants

Group sues Utah AG for records showing his ties with conservative policy organizations

Legal error prompts Our Schools Now to set more public meetings on proposed tax hike for Utah education

Trump says Republicans will let 'Obamacare fail' - but Utah's Hatch and Lee want to repeal it now, replace it later

Salt Lake City mayor says efforts at Rio Grande include lights, cameras and action to fight crime

After months of delay, White House formally nominates Jon Huntsman as U.S. ambassador to Russia

Ted Cruz in Utah? Maybe to support Chris Herrod's conservative campaign for Chaffetz's seat.

Deseret News

Romney tweets about John McCain after senator undergoes brain surgery

Sen. Orrin Hatch says GOP opposition caused Senate to blink on health care bill

5 counties sue state, saying law gives 'unfair' tax break to airlines

Watchdog group sues Utah A.G. over ties to GOP attorneys general association

Rep. Mia Love calls criminal justice reform a bipartisan opportunity

Former Carbon County emergency manager admits embezzling federal grant money

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul endorses Chris Herrod in 3rd District race

EPA administrator in Utah to get input on water rule, other regulations

Trump to nominate Jon Huntsman Jr. as ambassador to Russia

'Please stick with us:' Biskupski highlights plans to improve Rio Grande already in motion

Other

Op-ed: Big ideas and small egos add up to strong Ogden leadership (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

Nation's top 10 governors are all Republicans, poll finds (McClatchy)

Democratic governors eye White House (New York Times)

President Trump To Hold Rally Next Week In Ohio (Daily Caller)

Diller Says He's Saddened by Dysfunction in Washington (Bloomberg)

Why the GOP Congress will be the most unproductive in 164 years (The Week)

Trump targeting corporate tax rate 'in the 20s' (Politico)

New GOP plan to repeal Obamacare meets fatal opposition (Politico)

Mitch McConnell 'master tactician' label damaged after Senate health care fight (CNN)

Amid Russia storm, Trump pivots to Made in America (The Hill)

Mexico minister queries US talk on cutting NAFTA trade deficits (Reuters)

Internet Association blasts net neutrality group over ad campaign (The Hill)

Wise Words

Anger

"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame." Benjamin Franklin
 

Lighter Side

Kid Rock

"Kid Rock has officially announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Kid Rock says he wants to restore America back to a better time when it would have been unimaginable for Kid Rock to run for the U.S. Senate." Conan O'Brien