"Dean Hawker isn't your average Republican.
He's been in the party for nearly 50 years, including a decade on the Republican State Central Committee and another decade as GOP chairman of legislative District 61.
But Hawker says he's had enough of how his party operates and will be endorsing Democrat Bennion Spencer today over Republican Jason Chaffetz for the 3rd District U.S. House seat.
He said he's "found that he is a very articulate, conservative, pro-life Democrat."
Today, he will hold a news conference to outline exactly why he's switching sides in this election cycle.
"To me, it's not a pretty picture," he said of a party he views as ethically corrupt.
Spencer tacked right in his response to the Hawker endorsement:
"Dean understands that the issues that face America today are not Republican or Democratic, but rather American issues that we can only solve by working together. Our country faces an uphill climb in the coming years. As conservatives, we have an obligation to work together to come up with the right solutions for our families. Our core conservative principles is what will get us through these challenging economic times."
-Joe Pyrah, Daily Herald
