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United Utah Party candidate running ads calling on voters to ‘Release the Bishop’

Posted at 2:34 PM, Aug 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-06 18:00:43-04

LOGAN, Utah — A third party candidate running against Republican Congressman Rob Bishop has launched ads calling on voters to “Release the Bishop.”

United Utah Party candidate Eric Eliason’s slogan is a reference to Mormon terminology, where a local LDS bishop is no longer asked to serve in their calling.

An ad for Eric Eliason’s campaign targeting his opponent, Rep. Rob Bishop. (Image via Eliason for Congress campaign)

“We tested it with Mormons and non-Mormons and it did well with both,” Eliason told FOX 13. “Some people said if we didn’t put it out there, they were going to put it out there.”

Eliason is running for the 1st Congressional District, representing the upstart United Utah Party, which bills itself as a moderate alternative to the GOP and Democratic parties.

Bishop, who is one of Utah’s longest serving congressmen, is running for re-election.

“Sorry, Rob was busy working for Utahns as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and didn’t see these ads. He might have also been distracted by preparing his Sunday school lesson, since he’s not actually a Bishop. Aside from that, we have enough Bishops in Utah, let’s keep this one in Washington,” his campaign said in a statement.

Eliason is also facing Democratic candidate Lee Castillo in the race for Utah’s 1st Congressional District.

Eliason said he doesn’t plan to run it beyond a week, moving on to other topics in his billboard and social media campaigns.