For W. Andrew McCullough, running for the office of attorney general has become “a little of an obsession to drive the establishment crazy.”
Even though most of the major candidates running for state offices are either Republican or Democrat, McCullough, a U law school graduate and defense attorney for 25 years, is running for Utah attorney general for the Libertarian party.
“I feel very strongly about some legal issue in this state,” he said. “I feel if I don’t run, they won’t get discussed.”
McCullough, 60, said the major party candidates often portray themselves as tough on crime. Running as a more humane candidate, McCullough would like to make the office of attorney general smaller, user-friendly and open to the public.
McCullough, the state Libertarian party chairman, also ran in 2004 for Utah attorney general.
McCullough runs his law firm, McCullough & Associates. McCullough specializes in first amendment law and criminal defense. He also represents a large portion of the adult entertainment businesses in Utah.
“I’m a BYU graduate,” McCullough said. “They told me if I went to the “Godless university to the north’ for law school, I’d turn out to be a different person than I was. They were right.”
McCullough graduated from the S. J. Quinney College of Law in 1973. He believes he is the best suited for the job because of his unique view and his extensive trial experience.
On Sept. 30, the Hinckley Institute of Politics will host a debate between the attorney general candidate Jean Welch Hill and incumbent Mark Shurtleff. McCullough was not invited.
“I ask the institute to reconsider, but I got no response,” McCullough said. He cites a recent Salt Lake County District Attorney race in which a Libertarian associate of his was allowed to debate at the Hinckley Institute, and questioned why he cannot participate in the upcoming debate.
Hinckley Institute Director Kirk Jowers responded to phone calls before McCullough’s interview and stated the Institute’s policy. Jowers said the Hinckley Institute does not invite candidates for debates who are below 5 percent threshold in the polls.
According to a recent Dan Jones & Associates survey, 4 percent of Utahns polled plan to vote for McCullough. In a sample of 600, Shurtleff holds the lead with 61 percent, Hill is behind with 16 percent. Seventeen percent of those polled were undecided.
Some students feel that third parties help democracy because of their diversity, while others believe they hurt democracy because of their small numbers.
Dallin Call, a chemistry major, said third party candidates give variety and introduce ideas major candidates won’t address.
“Third parties help with democracy because they usually have point of views that are not one-sided,” he said.
