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Misty Snow Makes History By Winning Democratic Nomination For U.S. Senate

Brian Grimmett
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Misty Snow

Utah Democrats have chosen Misty Snow as their nominee to challenge Republican Senator Mike Lee. With the win, Snow becomes the first transgender person to be nominated by a major political party for a U.S. Senate Seat.

The results from Tuesday’s primary election show Misty Snow winning the race by nearly 20%. Snow is a first-time candidate with no previous political experience, but her message resonated with the more progressive side of the party.

“I feel pretty good," she says. "You know, once we got out of convention we were expecting to win just ‘cause my opponent He’s a self-described conservative in a Democratic primary which, you know, that’s not going to help you much.”

Her opponent, Jonathan Swinton, says he feels Snow was unfairly mischaracterizing him during her campaign. He also says the results reflect the enthusiasm many Utah Democrats have for Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders.

“You know there are a lot of people very excited about progressive messages and we felt our message has been progressive, but a lot of people felt Misty’s message has been more progressive,” Swinton says.

While Snow’s nomination is historic for the LGBT community, she says it’s something she hasn’t really thought about much until now.

“You know they say I’m making a difference just by running even whether or not I win or lose, just by running you have made a difference," she says.

Snow will now have to face incumbent Republican Sen. Mike Lee, which could be an impossible challenge, as Utah hasn’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1970. 

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