Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin touted a new poll Wednesday that shows him leading in Utah, and explained that part of his success is due to the fact that the GOP and Democratic nominees are “awful.”
“We find ourselves in a leadership crisis in this country and both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump personify that,” McMullin said Wednesday in an interview on the Fox Business Network.
“They’re both awful,” he added.
His remarks came as he was asked to explain a recent Emerson College survey showing him leading Trump 31 percent to 27.
“I would say that [Utah] is a conservative state that is dedicated to the foundational principles of this nation: The idea that we are all created equal, both men and women and people of all races,” McMullin said, downplaying the notion that likely voters in the heavily Mormon state support him because he shares their faith. “And we are dedicated to the cause of individual liberty.”
“Donald Trump does not exhibit or respect those values. I don’t think Hillary Clinton does either,” he said.
McMullin said in the same interview that his campaign has received advice from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s team, though he stressed the 2012 presidential candidate hasn’t formally endorsed him.
Pressed by his host on whether Romney would endorse him, McMullin said he’d leave that up to the former governor.
