Robert Liberté

ALASKA GETS UTAHED Except Utah’s came with an alleged $1,000 + 🥩 dinner bribe and a statewide coverup. In Alaska, a second Dan Sullivan showed up on the ballot in what Republicans call a calculated voter-confusion play. In Utah, after Phil Lyman beat the convention and forced a primary against Spencer Cox, an unrelated Richard Lyman (and his mother Carol) filed as write-in candidates for governor and lieutenant governor at the absolute last minute. Phil’s campaign released a coworker’s affidavit and texts claiming Richard said the Cox campaign offered him $1,000 and a 🥩 dinner to run specifically “to mess with Phil Lyman’s campaign.” That is illegal under Utah law. Cox’s people called it “blatantly false.” Not one member of Utah GOP leadership, the federal delegation, or the legislature publicly demanded answers or an investigation; especially Mike Lee, who had already locked arms with Cox and told everyone the primary was over and it was time to unite. Silence. Then the media did its part: stories about “Lyman dropping out” routinely used Phil’s photo instead of Richard’s or Carol’s. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (Cox’s running mate and the state’s chief election officer) sent the required email to registered Republicans announcing that Richard Kennedy Lyman and Carol Ann Lyman had withdrawn and that votes for them would not count. Voters flooded Phil’s campaign saying they thought he had quit. Henderson’s office clarified the obvious after the damage, but the confusion was already baked in. Name-alike candidates + last-minute filing + alleged inducement + media sloppiness + official email that further muddied the waters + total silence from every elected Republican who could have spoken = the exact playbook used to protect the incumbent. The lawsuit was later dismissed on free-speech grounds without a trial on the merits. No criminal probe. No accountability. Just the same people who run the elections and the party telling everyone to move on.