U.S. Senate candidates Brad Wilson, Brent Hatch endorse Donald Trump

Republican Senate candidates Brad Wilson and Brent Hatch endorsed Donald Trump for president on Sunday, as other Republican politicos coalesce around the former president, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee.

Wilson and Hatch are running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney. They face several other GOP candidates in the state’s primary, including 3rd District Rep. John Curtis, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, and conservative activist Carolyn Phippen. Staggs has already endorsed Trump, as has Phippen, while Curtis has said he’ll vote for Trump if he is the Republican nominee,

Wilson and Hatch both announced their support for Trump on X, shortly after news broke that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was ending his run for president and endorsing Trump.

“It is evident that President Trump is the right nominee for our party,” Wilson wrote. “I look forward to working in the Senate with President Trump to unite our party, secure a stronger future for America, and continue the fight for conservative leadership. ... President Trump has my full endorsement.”

Meanwhile, Hatch, whose father the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, supported Trump after he was elected, said he would continue his family’s support of the former president.

“My father was one of @realDonaldTrump‘s closest allies in the U.S. Senate,” he wrote on X.   “I will be the same as we work to reduce government spending, secure the border, and cut through red tape. Frankly, we all know President Biden is not capable of being the leader of the free world and needs to retire and get the care he obviously needs.”

Hatch ended his social media post with “Make America Great Again. #MAGA”.

Related

• Utah Sen. Mike Lee endorses Donald Trump for president

In recent weeks, the presidential race had whittled down to a contest between three candidates — DeSantis, Trump and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley. With DeSantis out, and Trump still commanding large majorities in polls, several senators and candidates have come out in support of Trump in recent weeks.

Only one state so far has had a chance to vote in the Republican primary. In the Iowa caucuses, Trump won 51% of the vote, while DeSantis finished with 21% and Haley with 19%.

The New Hampshire primary is this Tuesday, where the latest CNN poll showed Trump with 50% support and Haley with 39% among likely Republican voters. DeSantis was far behind his competitors with only 6% support.

This story has been updated.