SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah tea party group has endorsed GOP Senate candidate Mike Lee.
The Davis County 9/12 Project said in a statement released Monday that Lee is committed to tea party principles, including a limited, Constitution-based government.
"He shares our belief that government is too big, too expensive, and is operating outside the bounds set by the Constitution," the statement said, citing the attorney's knowledge of the Constitution. Other tea party and 9/12 Project organizers from the around the state have also endorsed Lee.
Also Monday, Lee's rival in the June 22 Republican primary election, Tim Bridgewater, announced endorsements from two Reagan-era Republican strategists.
Dick Richards, an Ogden native, was Republican National Committee chairman, and Ron Mann was a special assistant to Reagan and an adviser to former Utah Sen. Jake Garn.
Both Lee and Bridgewater have signed a pledge to support the repeal of the federal estate tax. The "Death Tax Repeal Pledge" is being circulated by the American Family Business Institute.
— Lisa Riley Roche