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The movement to unseat Republican Representative Mike Lee of Utah is gaining traction as he faces backlash for his posts about the shootings of two Minnesota politicians last week.
Last week, Democratic state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot in their Minnesota home. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot in their home, but survived. Two days later, officials arrested and charged Vance Boelter with two counts of second-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the shootings.
After the shootings, Lee wrote on X: “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.” In another post, he posted a photo of Boelter with the caption “Nightmare on Waltz Street.” The caption appeared to be a reference to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat. Lee has since deleted the posts.
Now, federal and state lawmakers alike are slamming Lee for sharing the posts in the wake of the deadly shooting.
Utah State Senator Nate Blouin, a Democrat, told The Bulwark he’s getting messages from constituents asking him to hold Lee accountable. Fellow Democratic lawmakers in Utah say they’ve been similarly flooded with emails from constituents who want to donate to support efforts to unseat Lee, according to The Bulwark.
But Blouin told The Bulwark he doesn’t think a Democrat like him could win Utah “at a statewide level.” However, he would support rallying behind an independent challenger, he added.
“We’re not going to win with a Democrat right now in Utah at a statewide level. It is not going to happen. I love the optimism, but it is not a reality,” Blouin told the outlet. “We’ve got a lot of work to do on the ground level to convince people that Democrats aren’t, you know, demons and eating babies trying to make everyone have an abortion.”
A senior staffer for Minnesota Senator Tina Smith also wrote a scathing email to Lee, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. The staffer, who knew Hortman, said they were speaking “through enormous grief.”
“It is important for your office to know how much additional pain you’ve caused on an unspeakably horrific weekend,” the email read. “I am not sure what compelled you or your boss to say any of those things, which, in addition to being unconscionable, also may very well be untrue.”
“You exploited the murder of a lifetime public servant and her husband to post some sick burns about Democrats,” the message continued. “Did you see this as an excellent opportunity to get likes and retweet[s]? Have you absolutely no conscience? No decency?”
Smith told CNN on Monday she also confronted Lee in person. She recalled telling Lee: “You need to take responsibility and accountability for what you are saying and doing out there in the social media world.”
Gabi Finlayson, founder of a Democratic consulting firm in Utah, told The Bulwark that Lee’s posts “really broke something open in Utah.”
“There certainly is a lot more urgency,” Finlayson said. “The idea that we truly have to get him out of office is no longer a theoretical thing or just a liberal idea. It is a moral imperative.”
The Independent has contacted Lee’s office for comment.
