CNN
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Evan McMullin, the unbiased difficult Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, mentioned of their solely debate Monday evening that Lee’s actions across the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol had been “a betrayal of the American republic.”

Lee, in the meantime, mentioned he accepted that President Joe Biden in 2020 had received the presidency within the “solely election that issues – the election held by the Electoral Faculty.” The senator defended his actions that day, pointing to his votes to certify states’ Electoral Faculty outcomes.

Their conflict got here on the day elections officers in Utah started mailing ballots to voters.

McMullin describes himself as conservative however has mentioned he would caucus with neither occasion if he defeats Lee. He’s making an attempt to unite a coalition of Democrats, independents and anti-Donald Trump Republicans – and he acquired an help this spring when Utah Democrats opted to endorse him somewhat than discipline their very own candidate. However in Utah, even that coalition won’t be sufficient. Trump received 58% of the vote there in 2020.

McMullin’s entrance into politics got here in an effort to function an antidote to Trump. He ran for president as an unbiased in opposition to Trump in 2016. He drew 22% of the vote in Utah, properly behind Trump’s 46% and Hillary Clinton’s 27%. Amongst those that voted for McMullin in 2016 was Lee, who mentioned on the time that it “was a protest vote.”

Listed here are 4 takeaways from their Monday evening debate:

McMullin’s sharpest assaults on Lee got here after a moderator raised the subject of the result of the 2020 presidential election.

“You had been there to face up for our Structure. However when the barbarians had been on the gate, you had been blissful to allow them to in,” McMullin mentioned.

Lee identified that finally, he accepted the Electoral Faculty vote.

“Sure, there have been individuals who behaved very badly on that day. I used to be not one in every of them. I used to be one of many individuals who tried to dismantle that scenario,” Lee mentioned.

McMullin, in the meantime, mentioned Lee solely voted to just accept states’ electoral votes after no different plan to maintain Trump in workplace materialized.

“You voted to certify the election within the final second,” McMullin mentioned. “In the identical manner that somebody is aware of {that a} plot that’s not fairly figuring out should abandon it, that’s what you probably did.”

McMullin repeatedly cited textual content messages reported by CNN in April between Lee and Trump’s then-White Home chief of employees Mark Meadows during which the 2 communicated about efforts to overturn Biden’s victory for weeks.

In early December 2020, Lee started texting Meadows about the concept states may submit alternate slates of pro-Trump electors to Congress on January 6. Lee finally voted to certify states’ electoral votes.

McMullin mentioned Lee was working “to maintain a president who had been voted out of workplace, based on the need of the individuals, in energy regardless of the need of the individuals.”

He pointed to Lee’s November 7, 2020, texts to Meadows asking him to assist Sidney Powell – probably the most outstanding attorneys fronting lawsuits that supported Trump and made accusations of widespread election fraud – get entry to Trump.

He mocked the pocket Structure that Lee carries, telling the senator that it’s “not a prop so that you can wave about after which when it’s handy on your pursuit of energy, to desert with out a thought. That’s what you’ve completed with that.”

Lee shot again: “I disagree with every little thing my opponent simply mentioned, together with the phrases ‘however,’ ‘and’ and ‘the.’ An information-free, truth-free assertion – that’s one thing of a file.”

“There may be completely nothing to the concept I ever would have supported or ever did assist a pretend electors plot,” Lee mentioned. “Nothing. Not a scintilla of proof suggesting that. But you proceed to counsel that with a cavalier, reckless disregard for the reality.”

In an effort to solid Lee as excessive, McMullin invoked Utah’s different GOP senator: Mitt Romney.

Criticizing Lee’s method to fiscal measures, McMullin mentioned he “routinely votes in opposition to payments that will enhance water infrastructure.”

“In the meantime, Senator Romney has labored exhausting and persistently over the past three years,” McMullin mentioned. “He works with Republicans and Democrats, Senator Lee, to ship for Utah. And he voted in favor of the bipartisan infrastructure invoice that you just voted in opposition to. And now tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} have already been directed to Utah to enhance our water infrastructure.”

Lee responded: “Yeah, I voted in opposition to that invoice – a invoice that spent properly over a trillion {dollars} greater than we’ve on all kinds of issues that weren’t appropriately federal.”

Romney has stayed out of the race.

Lee, in an look final week on Fox, made a plea directed at Romney: “Please get on board. Assist me win reelection,” he mentioned. The transfer appeared designed much less to win over Romney than to rile up Lee’s conservative base.

Trump adopted Lee’s pleas to Romney with a press release during which he referred to as McMullin “McMuffin” and mentioned that Lee was being “abused, in an unprecedented manner” by Romney.

Lee mentioned he was “thrilled” with the Supreme Court docket’s choice to strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade choice that had made abortion authorized nationwide. He mentioned he believes states ought to determine how one can regulate abortion.

“That is the place it ought to stay, as a result of it’s inside the states that we will obtain probably the most consensus and shield probably the most infants,” Lee mentioned.

McMullin, in the meantime, sought to discover a center floor on abortion rights, saying that he opposes “abortion on demand” but in addition opposes state laws to drive younger rape victims to hold their pregnancies to time period.

“A few of these payments that I see being handed across the nation are excessive,” McMullin mentioned.