# Evan McMullin **Evan McMullin** (born April 2, 1976, Provo) is a former CIA operations officer and House Republican staffer who became the most visible conservative anti-Trump candidate of the 2016 cycle. ## Background McMullin was a CIA operations officer from 2001 to 2010, then was chief policy director of the House Republican Conference from January 2015 to July 2016. ## 2016 He launched an independent presidential campaign on August 8, 2016, finishing with about 0.5% nationally and 21.5% in Utah, where he placed third. ## Stand Up Republic In January 2017 he co-founded Stand Up Republic with Mindy Finn, serving as executive director through 2023 per LegiStorm. ## 2022 Senate race McMullin launched an independent Senate bid in Utah in October 2021. In April 2022 Utah Democrats declined to nominate their own candidate and backed him instead. He lost to [[Mike Lee]] on November 8, 2022, 53.2% to 42.8%. **Current status:** no post-2023 role verified. ## RWKB angle McMullin marks the institutional-conservative exit ramp from Trump, and his 2022 race is the template for Democrats standing aside to back an independent against a MAGA incumbent. ## See Also - [[Mike Lee]]