Jeff Flake’s Gamble
The Arizona Republican is betting his Senate seat on the political appeal of decency—but can that pay off in Trump’s America?
Mormon News Report: 7 July 2017
Flake was the keynote speaker for the Religious Freedom Annual Review, a two-day conference sponsored by BYU's International Center for Law and Religion Studies. The event, which continues Friday at the BYU Conference Center, features speakers, panels and workshops related to religious liberty.
Brett Scharffs, director of the law and religion studies center, said religious freedom is a central component of the LDS
Multiple reports from the last few months have shined a spotlight on Flake’s re-election run since the BYU grad spoke out against President Donald Trump.
So much so that Trump mulled over the idea of spending $10 million in support of one of Flake’s opponents in the 2018 race, according to the Deseret News.
Flake, though, told The Washington Post that he embraces the forthcoming challenge.
“If I wanted an easier path through the primary, then I would line up more with where the president is,” he said. “But I think if you’re an elected official, you’ve got to do what you know what’s right. It’ll be a tougher path than I could have had, would have had, but I think I’ll get there.”
The Atlantic
After a decade and a half in Congress, he has come to believe that the defining story of his time in Washington is one of goodwill gutted and cynicism weaponized, culminating with the election of Donald Trump.
Flake was raised on a cattle ranch in Arizona, in a giant Mormon family—an upbringing that he says influenced both his political style and his outlook, particularly on immigration.
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