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Evan McMullin

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Not to be confused with Evan McMillan.
Evan McMullin
Personal details
Born
David Evan McMullin

(1976-04-02) April 2, 1976 (age 48)
Provo, Utah, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (Before 2016)
Independent (2016–present)
Alma materBrigham Young University
University of Pennsylvania
WebsiteCampaign website

David Evan McMullin[1] (born April 2, 1976) is the former chief policy director for the House Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives and a former CIA operations officer.[2] On August 8, 2016, he announced he would run as an independent candidate in the 2016 election for President of the United States, reportedly backed by the organization Better for America.[3][4] McMullin describes himself as a conservative alternative to the candidates of the two major political parties, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Early life and education

McMullin was born in Provo, Utah, and grew up outside Seattle.[5]

He is a 1994 graduate of Auburn Senior High School in Auburn, Washington, and has a Bachelor's degree in International Law and Diplomacy from Brigham Young University and a Master's of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.[6]

Career

After graduating from Brigham Young University in 2001 he worked in Amman, Jordan, as a Volunteer Refugee Resettlement Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[6] He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2001 until 2011, working overseas on counterterrorism and intelligence operations in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia[6] as an undercover operations officer with the National Clandestine Service.[7]

In 2011, McMullin worked for the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs.[8]

In 2013, McMullin became a senior adviser on national security issues for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for the 113th Congress.[2] McMullin became the chief policy director of the House Republican Conference in 2015 under Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.).[9] McMullin resigned from his position as chief policy director shortly before declaring his run for president.[2]

Starting in 2013, McMullin was an International Advisory Board Member for the Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University.[10] McMullin is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[11]

Public speaking

In March 2016, McMullin spoke at a TEDx talk at the London Business School. He criticized governments in the West and elsewhere for allowing genocides and other mass atrocities to continue to occur. He called for increased "political competition" through grassroots activism and social media to motivate leaders.

At a speech to the University of Pennsylvania alumni association in Washington, D.C. in May 2016, McMullin said that despite "tremendous" expenditure on anti-poverty programs "the poverty rate today, in America, is still about the same that it was in the mid 1960s" due to the incompetence of the federal government. Instead of helping people out of poverty, McMullin said, the government created a safety net to "make poverty more tolerable".[12]

2016 presidential campaign

McMullin's campaign logo
Main article: Evan McMullin presidential campaign, 2016
2016 U.S. presidential election
Republican Party
Democratic Party
Third parties
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On August 8, 2016, McMullin announced that he would run as a candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 presidential election as an independent.[13][14][15][16] He has the support of several anti-Trump Republican donors.[13][17][18] McMullin's presidential bid is also backed by several former members of Better for America, a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to getting nationwide ballot access for an independent candidate for President in the 2016 election.[6][19] McMullin's campaign is supported by some members of the "Never Trump" movement.[20]

McMullin's late entrance into the race caused him to miss several state ballot deadlines, so he will not appear on the presidential ballots of many states.[21] According to ballot access specialist Richard Winger, "If Better for America has the resources to complete petition drives very quickly, it could still petition for McMullin in approximately one-third of the states."[22] McMullin's campaign stated that it intended to get around these deadlines through legal challenges to states with early deadlines such as Texas, seeking the nomination of third parties already on the ballot, and as a last resort mounting write-in campaigns.[23][24]

In a statement issued on the day he launched his campaign, he said: "In a year where Americans have lost faith in the candidates of both major parties, it’s time for a generation of new leadership to step up. It’s never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us. I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a conservative choice for President."[6]

On August 8, 2016, the same day that McMullin launched his independent bid, it was announced that Kahlil Byrd and Chris Ashby, Republican strategists with expertise in third-party ballot access, would form a super PAC called Stand Up America to support McMullin's campaign. Byrd is a former adviser for Better for America. The PAC will be used for TV and digital ads, live events, and grass-roots organizing, but not for suing for ballot access.[25]

McMullin has achieved ballot access in six states thus far: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Utah.

Political stances

McMullin holds pro-life views. According to his campaign website, he opposes "a culture that subsidizes abortion on demand." His website also states that "Americans can and should work together . . . to reduce unintended pregnancies and encourage adoption, even if they may have different opinions on abortion rights."[26]

McMullin has stated that although he believes in "traditional marriage between a man and a woman", he "respects" the United States Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges and thinks it is "time to move on" from the issue of same-sex marriage. He also stated that he would not make appointments to the Supreme Court with the intent of overturning Obergefell.[27]

McMullin is pro-free trade, and wants to keep Guantanamo Bay prison open. He supports tax border security and tax reform.[28] McMullin agrees with the provision of ObamaCare covering those with preexisting conditions, but believes that "we also need to do better than ObamaCare."[29]

References

  1. ^ "David Evan McMullin (Evan) – Congressional Staffer Salary Data". legistorm.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Walshe, Shushannah (August 8, 2016). "Former CIA Officer Evan McMullin Launches Independent Presidential Bid". ABC News. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Haberman, Maggie (August 8, 2016). "Evan McMullin, Anti-Trump Republican, Is Said to Plan Independent Presidential Bid". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  4. ^ Coppins, McKay (August 8, 2016). "Anti-Trump Republican Launching Independent Presidential Bid". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ a b c d e "Former CIA Officer to Launch Independent Presidential Bid". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "Alumni Spotlight: Evan McMullin on the Past, Present, and Future of the Republican Party". Penn in Washington. 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "About Evan McMullin". Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Jeff Selsar (January 7, 2015). "John Boehner's revenge – McConnell gets rough reminder of Senate rules on first day – Scalise is still fundraising". Poltico. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "Evan McMullin: International counselor extraordinaire" (PDF). Bridges: BYU Alumni Magazine. 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  11. ^ Easley, Jonathan (August 8, 2016). "Five things to know about Evan McMullin". The Hill. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  12. ^ "Evan McMullin Talks Poverty, Foreign Affairs". The Statesman. February 15, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Coppins, McKay (August 8, 2016). "Anti-Trump Republican Launching Independent Presidential Bid". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  14. ^ "Joe Scarborough: Evan McMullin Will Launch Independent Presidential Bid". hinterlandgazette.com. Hinterland Gazette. August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  15. ^ "Anti-Trump Republican Evan McMullin to launch independent bid for presidency". Politico. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  16. ^ Twitter page ("Standing up to run for president because it’s never too late to do the right thing.") Retrieved August 8, 2016
  17. ^ "Evan McMullin: Independent candidate launches presidential bid". BBC News. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  18. ^ Alvarez, Priscilla. "Anti-Trump Republicans Take One More Shot at the White House". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  19. ^ "This year is different". Better For America. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  20. ^ Gambino, Sabrina Siddiqui Lauren; York, Amber Jamieson in New (August 8, 2016). "Republican Evan McMullin to launch presidential run against Trump" – via The Guardian.
  21. ^ Leonard, Randy; Kelly, Ryan (August 8, 2016). "McMullin Presidential Run an Uphill Battle, per State Filing Deadlines". Roll Call. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  22. ^ Winger, Richard (August 8, 2016). "Better for America Finds a Presidential Nominee". Ballot Access News. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  23. ^ Warren, Michael (August 10, 2016). "How Evan McMullin Plans to Overcome Ballot Access Hurdles". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  24. ^ Winger, Richard (August 10, 2016). "Evan McMullin Will Sue Texas over May Petition Deadline". Ballot Access News. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  25. ^ "New super PAC launching to support Evan McMullin independent White House bid". Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  26. ^ "On the Issues: Life". Evan McMullin for President. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  27. ^ "Independent Presidential Candidate Evan McMullin on Same-Sex Marriage, CIA, Goldman Sachs". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  28. ^ "Interview with Evan McMullin, the center-right candidate". Washington Post. August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  29. ^ Byrnes, Jesse (August 18, 2016). "McMullin: Trump 'trying to tear the country apart'". The Hill. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
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