WASHINGTON CITY — On Friday, a campaign rally held at Staheli Family Farms in Washington City featured Utah Sen. Mike Lee alongside Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who said Lee’s integrity and “cast-iron backbone” has earned him a reputation of protecting the rights and prosperity of families in Utah.
A crowd of several hundred cheered as Lee took the stage with Cruz, a fellow conservative in the Senate. As the pair addressed the crowd, Cruz spoke of a “red tsunami” coming in the November election.
Lee said voters in Washington County made the difference in the 2010 election when he was elected to his first term in the U.S. Senate.
“I would not be in the United States Senate were it not for Washington County,” Lee said. “God bless you.”
Lee criticized President Joe Biden’s policies and spoke of his own record, saying he consistently voted against bills that included massive tax increases so Democrats could go on spending sprees, worsening inflation.
The only way to stop inflation is to stop government spending, Lee said, which was the reason he voted against the inflation reduction act. He said any savings in the bloated bill would not stem the inflation crisis.
The senator mentioned another “failed” policy of the Biden Administration — the baby formula shortage that swept across the country several months ago and only affected the United States. That shortage, Lee said, was caused by failed regulatory policies of the administration, adding that the Senate had to pass two laws to open the industry back up and start replenishing the country’s formula supplies.
Lee also spoke of his opponent, Evan McMullin, who he said may claim to be independent, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Lee said, his challenger is more closely aligned with Democrats. Lee said this lack of party affiliation is very important when it comes to caucusing.
The senator explained that the only way to serve on a Senate committee or to have any real impact is to belong to a party. If pushed, Lee said his opponent has made it very clear which party he will choose, “and it’s not the Republicans.”
Lee said McMullin has “praised everything Joe Biden has done and criticized everything Republicans have done.”
Lee said that McMullin is “for practical purposes a Democratic candidate and the only candidate to be endorsed by the Democratic party. Do you want a Republican?”
Lee also spoke of Cruz, who he said he met at a conference in Washington, D.C., in 2012. After a long discussion, Lee said he decided to endorse Cruz while he was running in the Senate race in Texas that year.
“I told him if you run for the Senate, then I’m all in,” Lee said.
Cruz addressed the crowd as part of a 17-state “Truth and Courage” bus tour to help “take back America” and described Lee as a man of integrity with a “cast-iron backbone” who was not afraid to fight for the American people and to protect the Constitution.
“Mike is not afraid of the Democrats, and he’s not afraid of the press,” Cruz said. “He’s not even afraid of his own party when they are surrendering and giving up our principles.”
Cruz encouraged voters to reach out to family members, friends and colleagues to make sure they get out and vote, adding that Utah voters could very well be the deciding factor in whether Republicans take the Senate this year.
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