This summer, the movie Sound of Freedom became a sensation in conservative circles thrusting the leader of an anti child sex trafficking organization, Tim Ballard, into the national spotlight. The movie, controversial for both its subject matter and its marketing strategy, went on to gross nearly 200 million dollars at the domestic box office which was shockingly more than the most recent Mission: Impossible movie. Now this fall, an investigation into Ballard’s organization, Operation Underground Railroad, along with several sexual misconduct investigations have the opportunity to reshape two statewide races in Utah for the upcoming 2024 cycle.

On September 13th, Mitt Romney announced he would retire from his Senate seat and later that day Attorney General Sean Reyes announced he would not run for the seat. Instead, he would be supporting “a great conservative, patriot, and warrior” and a dear friend who would be announcing a Senate run “in the days to come.” Although he didn’t announce, Reyes and Ballard are good friends, and several people close to Tim Ballard did say he was interested in running to replace Romney. 

In July, Vice published an article that announced Tim Ballard had stepped away from Operation Underground railroad. It also brought to light an investigation by the Davis County Attorney’s office into various charges including “communications fraud, witness tampering and retaliation against a witness, victim or informant.” In September, it also came to light that Ballard had said a good deal of his work and projects were endorsed by a prominent official in the Mormon Church, Russell M. Ballard (no relation to Tim). On September 15th, just two days after the Ballard Senate Speculation started, the Mormon church, which rarely speaks on matters like these, was quick to distance itself from Ballard saying it condemns his “morally unacceptable” behavior. It also released a statement saying that Tim Ballard ``had betrayed their (Tim and Russell’s) friendship, through the unauthorized use of President Ballard’s name for Tim Ballard’s personal advantage. Several women have also since come forward alleging sexual misconduct. If Ballard ultimately enters the senate race, he may have an uphill battle against House Speaker Brad Wilson and possibly Congressman John Curtis (UT-3) or Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz (UT-3).

In the Attorney General election, Sean Reyes got his first (potential) primary challenger on November 16th. Derek Brown, a former legislator and state party chair, entered the race days after the Utah legislature announced an investigation into Reyes. The investigation seeks to find out if he used his power as a state official and legislator to help Ballard. When this article was being written on November 27th, a story broke that a woman was suing Reyes saying he used his position to block a critic of Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad from speaking out. This scandal has even led to discussion in the legislature about passing a bill that, if passed with 2/3rds majority, would allow an appointment of the Attorney General rather than an election. However, it won’t happen in time for the 2024 race so we could get an interesting primary race focused on Tim Ballard. 

From his meteoric rise onto the national scene this summer, Tim Ballard has taken hit after hit to his reputation since. Whether this will cost him if he enters the Senate race is still to be seen. Whether he even gets in the race is a question as of now, but he'll have an impact on at least one race next year with the Attorney General increasingly having to defend their relationship. If he ultimately decides to get in the primary, whatever the outcome at least he knows he’ll be the center of attention.