Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin leads in Utah — new poll

Former CIA agent Evan McMullin talks to to the media after announcing his presidential campaign as an Independent candidate on August 10, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Former CIA agent Evan McMullin talks to to the media after announcing his presidential campaign as an Independent candidate on August 10, 2016 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin topped both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in a new Utah poll released Wednesday.

The survey, from Emerson College, showed that McMullin had 31 percent of support — while Trump had 27 percent and Clinton had 24 percent in the state. The margin of error for the poll was 3.6 percent, according to a release detailing the results.

McMullin, a Mormon businessman who was formerly a CIA operative, had been climbing in recent Utah polls as Trump struggled in the state.

The last time a Republican lost Utah was 1964 — when Lyndon B. Johnson trounced Barry Goldwater. The last independent candidate to win electoral votes was segregationist George Wallace in 1968.