This article was first published in the On the Trail 2024 newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday mornings here. To submit a question to next week’s Friday Mailbag, email onthetrail@deseretnews.com.

Hello, friends. I’m writing today from Chicago, where the Democratic National Convention kicked off last night.

I’ll be filing stories from here all week, like I did from the Republican convention last month. That convention in Milwaukee ended with euphoria: just days after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life, Republicans were sure they couldn’t lose against Joe Biden. Now, here we are, just weeks later, with Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket and a much different roadmap to Election Day.

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3 things to know

  • At the start of a convention that was once planned to nominate him, President Joe Biden delivered the concluding speech at the Democratic National Convention’s opening session Monday night — and passed off the torch to his hand-picked successor. Read more here.
  • Could pessimism about the economy sink Kamala Harris? Even as Harris rises in national polls, a new poll from the Deseret News/HarrisX shows American voters are still feeling very negative about the country and the economy. Can Harris pin these woes on Biden, or will voters eventually see her as partially responsible? Her success could hinge on that question. Read more here.
  • The Trump campaign wants to turn voters’ attention to the economy. Recognizing the above is true, Trump and his surrogates are hoping to turn the spotlight to inflation and economic policy. Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are traveling to swing states across the country this week, while Trump surrogates will give daily press conferences in Chicago. Read more here.

The big idea

Why Rusty Bowers won’t vote for either Trump or Harris

I wrote this week about the “wrestle” many religious conservatives are facing in the 2024 election. As I continue to talk to these voters, I hear many of them express the same dilemma they faced in 2016 and 2020: they are tepid in their support of Trump because of his moral character and his fitness for office, but they are unconvinced by Harris because of disagreements on policy. Some view the election, as Sen. Mitt Romney framed the 2020 race, as a choice between an “awful person or awful policies.”

In my story, I detail conservatives who’ve ended up on either side. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and former Idaho Lt. Gov. David Leroy — who chaired Nikki Haley’s campaign in that state — both say they’ll support Trump. Mesa Mayor John Giles and retired Judge Dan Barker, both lifelong Republicans, say they’ll vote for Harris.

But at least one prominent Republican in the West is still on the fence: former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers.

Bowers rose to national prominence in 2022, after he testified before Congress’ Jan. 6 Select Committee about the 2020 election. In the days after Trump lost that election, Bowers — then the Arizona Speaker — fielded multiple calls from Trump himself and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who pressured Bowers to overturn the election results in Arizona. Bowers declined, Trump retaliated, and before long, Bowers had angry pro-Trump protesters — some of them armed — at his home.

Shortly after his testimony in 2022, Bowers got frustrated when I asked if he would support Trump if he were the Republican nominee in 2024. “That’s a false choice,” he told me. “Why would we focus on that? And I’m not gonna let you box me.” Back then, Trump re-securing the Republican nomination was purely hypothetical, and Bowers didn’t like the idea of it. He said Trump “doesn’t represent the morals and the platform of my party” and that Trump represents “a party of intimidation.” But he refused to say whether he’d support him again.

Fast forward to Monday. When I called Bowers and asked if he’ll support Trump this time around, Bowers did not hesitate. “I’m not in either camp,” he told me. “I can’t vote for Trump, and I can’t vote for (Harris).”

Bowers quickly rattled off the things that he believes make Trump — who he voted for in 2020 — an unsuitable option. The idea of a second Trump presidency, Bowers said, is frightening: “There will be retribution,” he said. Further, with China, Iran and Russia showing aggression, Bowers doesn’t believe Trump is up to task. “His foreign policy is whimsical, at best,” he said.

But no more comforting is the possibility of Trump losing, Bowers said. “He’ll complain and say it was stolen,” he said. “Who knows where that will lead.”

Bowers can’t bring himself to vote for Harris, though. Giles and others of Harris’ Republican backers have tried to convince him, Bowers said, but he can’t get past her policies. “She’s very socialistic,” he said.

Where do people like Bowers turn? “It’s a time of concern,” Bowers said, “and yet we have to move forward. I choose faith, faith in Christ, but also faith in hard work.”

For Bowers, that means dedicating himself to local causes — both inside and outside politics. He’s supporting an effort in Arizona that would reform primary elections to prevent extreme candidates from winning. He’s working on water conservation initiatives to ensure Arizona has the natural resources necessary to keep up with its rapid growth. And he’s actively involved in his local religious community, hoping to serve a Latter-day Saint mission with his wife.

“Many people of goodwill — and maybe I’m the worst example, because I’m standing as an idle witness — do not support either of these extreme candidates,” Bowers said. “I do support a middle ground, saying, ‘these issues we do not agree on, but these are the issues where we do agree.’ In my limited degree, I want to be helpful.”

Democracy, he added, is not a guarantee. “Of course it’s in danger,” he said. “There was danger on day two of the Revolution, and the day after the revolution. It’s been in danger ever since. Respecting danger doesn’t mean running away from it.”

“For people who want to do good, I don’t just hope there is a solution,” he added. “I hope there is survival.”

What I’m reading

Utah Gov. Cox, as mentioned above, will vote for Trump this cycle (after writing in candidates in both 2016 and 2020). In this new profile, he divulges more of his thinking — include an attempt to slightly soften his endorsement. “I said I’m going to vote for him,” Cox said. “I didn’t say I support everything he does. I’m not even telling you that you need to vote for him.” The Last Man in America to Change His Mind About Trump (McKay Coppins, The Atlantic)

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Comments

The VP pick usually doesn’t matter. It does this election, though, according to this essay. The argument is that Trump’s pick, Sen. JD Vance, not only will sink or float the Trump campaign, but will determine what the future of the GOP looks like. Vance personifies a “blend of the old and the new in the Republican Party”: old-school on abortion, family policy and public religion, but different on foreign policy, trade, tariffs, labor and much more. Why the Veep Picks Matter (Gregory Conti, Compact)

It’s do-or-die in Pennsylvania, where Trump is running into two challenges: Latino voters and mail-in voting. While Trump is outperforming past Republicans among Latino voters nationally, the Harris campaign beat him to the punch in Pennsylvania, which has more electoral votes than any other battleground state. And on mail-in ballots: early voting starts in a month in Pennsylvania, and Trump’s on-the-ground staff are pushing hard to encourage voting however voters can — even while Trump is continuing to cast doubt on the system in his speeches. Pennsylvania is slipping from Donald Trump’s grasp (Edward Luce, Financial Times)

Thanks for reading. See you on the trail.

Editor’s Note: The Deseret News is committed to covering issues of substance in the 2024 presidential race from its unique perspective and editorial values. Our team of political reporters will bring you in-depth coverage of the most relevant news and information to help you make an informed decision. Find our complete coverage of the election here.

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