Donald Trump has slipped into a virtual three-way tie in Utah, raising the prospect that the traditionally solid red state could vote for someone other than the GOP nominee for the first time in half a century, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin is trailing just four points behind the major party nominees at 22 percent, pulling support from voters who would typically cast their ballot for the Republican.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson meanwhile polled at 14 percent.
The survey, conducted by Salt Lake City-based Y2 Analytics, shows Trump and Clinton both polling at 26 percent with likely voters in the state, Deseret News reported.
Trump has struggled to court Utah’s sizable Mormon population, and Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), a staunch conservative and member of the Mormon church, has been highly critical of the New York businessman throughout the campaign. In a message posted to YouTube Friday, Lee called on the Republican nominee to "step aside" hours after the release of a 2005 video showing Trump making lewd and derogatory comments about women.
Other Mormon lawmakers in the state, including Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Gov. Gary Herbert, have revoked their endorsements of the GOP nominee following the video’s release.
Trump conceded last month he was "having a tremendous problem in Utah," a deep red state that hasn’t vote for a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. With just 26 days remaining before Election Day, it remains unclear whether Trump can reverse course in the state.
The Y2 Analytics poll was conducted Monday and Tuesday, surveying 500 likely Utah voters over the phone. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.