Utah GOP lawmaker abruptly quits after calling for an Arizona-style election audit

In a surprising announcement on Thursday, a Republican state lawmaker who appeared on Steve Bannon's podcast before speaking at a rally last week advocating for a forensic audit of the 2020 presidential election announced he was leaving not only his seat in the legislature but his job with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)

Rep. Steve Christiansen (West Jordan) -- who has been pushing to ban critical race theory in Utah's schools -- was harshly criticized after hosting the rally on the Utah Capitol steps last week where he demanded an Arizona-style audit of the 2020 ballots, reports the Deseret News.

That same day he spread election misinformation during a committee hearing that earned him a rebuke from Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, both Republicans, who issued a joint statement reading, "We recognize some voters have legitimate questions about our elections and we invite all citizens to be involved in our local elections to see the process first-hand. But make no mistake: There is absolutely no evidence of election fraud in Utah."

Late Thursday, Christiansen issued a statement of his own saying he was resigning from both his jobs with "mixed emotions" due to the pushback he has received.

"While I expected, unfortunately, to be personally maligned and ridiculed as a public servant, I did not expect to see individuals attack my wife as they have, nor to see the significance of the impact of those attacks on her and our family," Christiansen wrote. "Primarily for that reason, it has become necessary to 'pause.'"

The GOP lawmaker did leave the door open to one day running for office again, writing, "We are in the midst of a Constitutional crisis of epic proportions and there is much to be done! The day may come when I re-enter the public arena," he wrote. "In the meantime, however, I plan to maintain a strong voice for freedom and liberty and remain engaged in the battle to ensure election integrity, medical freedom, and the protection of families."

You can see his resignation letter below: