THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER – Sen. Mike Lee is an unlikely outsider.
The Utah Republican burst onto the political scene in 2010 as a Tea Party stalwart, ousting three-term Sen. Bob Bennett in a primary. But prior to that campaign — Lee’s first for elected office — he rose through the ranks of Utah’s GOP establishment at least partly on the coattails of his family’s deep political connections. Among his plum, insider gigs: general counsel to then-Gov. Jon Huntsman and law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
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The freshman senator recently elevated his profile by leading the charge to defund Obamacare through budget negotiations, pushing congressional Republicans into October’s 16-day government shutdown. The episode left the Republican Party’s approval rating in tatters. Some Utah Republicans who dealt with the lawyerly, low-key Lee when he worked for Huntsman were surprised to see him playing the role of partisan antagonist, but Huntsman thought it was in character.
Read more at The Washington Examiner.
