SALT LAKE CITY — The campaign for Utah Senate candidate Evan McMullin filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the political action committee responsible for an ad they claim uses doctored footage to "mislead Utah voters."
In addition to the Club for Growth PAC, the lawsuit also includes the television stations currently airing the ad, which includes FOX 13.
McMullin says the attack ad, which features him saying "the Republican base is racist," is a lie and that his words were taken out of context from when he participated in a CNN panel in 2017.
Speaking after a Neo-Nazi march in Virginia, McMullin said on the panel, "Not all Republicans, of course, are racist. I was raised by Republicans who are not at all — and who welcome Americans of all backgrounds and are not at all alike. But there is an element of the Republican base that is racist, and our leaders are afraid to stand up to them, because if they do, if they do so, they'll be criticized, and they'll potentially lose votes, and so they don't do it."
During a press conference last week, McMullin's campaign asked television stations to stop running the ad, and for his opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, to condemn the commercial and demand that it be taken off the air.
Lee’s campaign has previously said they are not responsible for the ad and that they are not allowed to coordinate with PACs.
