BYU grad launches last-minute campaign for president

SALT LAKE CITY — A BYU graduate with a decidedly anti-Trump bent launched an 11th-hour bid for president Monday in an effort to disrupt the election in states where Republicans aren't sold on the billionaire businessman.

Evan McMullin, a former CIA counterterrorism officer, will run an independent campaign with the backing of several prominent Republicans and anti-Trump donors. Better for America, an organization that says it's clearing a path to the presidency for an alternative candidate as part of the Stop Trump movement, also supports McMullin.

"In a year where Americans have lost faith in the candidates of both major parties, it’s time for a generation of new leadership to step up," McMullin said in a statement. "It’s never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us. I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a conservative choice for president.”

McMullin, 40, resigned Monday as chief policy director of the House Republican Conference. He was born in Provo and graduated from high school in Auburn, Washington. He served a Mormon mission to Brazil. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international law and diplomacy from BYU and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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