UT-Sen: Hatch misses 60 by a whisker

[Zioneer]

Well, he really lucked out in not drawing a formidable challenger.

Yeah, but he's Hatch. He should have been able to breeze through without a primary against the idiots that were against him, but he didn't. He's losing his edge.

Also, he's never actually ran in a primary before (he won the nomination outright in '76), so this will be interesting.

[Zioneer]

Well, he really lucked out in not drawing a formidable challenger.

Yeah, but he's Hatch. He should have been able to breeze through without a primary against the idiots that were against him, but he didn't. He's losing his edge.

Also, he's never actually ran in a primary before (he won the nomination outright in '76), so this will be interesting.

An autobiographical book of his I read from once at Barnes & Noble says otherwise, and that he was actually the second-place candidate at the convention in 1976.  I remember reading at the time that he barely avoided a primary in 2000, and his closest (only?) competitor became the running-mate of the primary challenger to Governor Mike Leavitt who didn't avoid a primary that year.

Fair enough; I was just going off of Wikipedia and other assorted internet sources. Didn't know Hatch faced a primary in '76.

Still, the fact that he's facing a primary now (when he's as well-known and experienced as he is) goes to show that's he's weaker than ever before. The FreedomWorks guys are very determined this year to kick Hatch out. They'll probably lose, but the division might open up an opportunity for the Democrat (who yes, lost to Hatch in 2000) to maybe squeak through a victory. After all, the times are a'changing.

[Zioneer]

Liljenquist seems like he has a pretty distinguished record - "Legislator of the Year" for his work on entitlement reform. And apparently he got badly injured in a humanitarian mission plane crash, so that's some super hero cred there.   Some kind of problem with (accidently ?) not paying his taxes, but that's recoverable.  Is it possible he'll have enough appeal to gain support and win the primary?

Unlikely. If Hatch was able to get almost 60% in activist-dominated and ultra-right politically Republican convention, then it's more then likely that he will get even more at more "normal" primary.

Actually, compared to 2010, this years GOP convention was a lot more moderate, and many of the delegates considered themselves as "moderate" (still ultraconservative, but not nearly as much as 2010's version). Even the number of voters/delegates that considered themselves "Tea Partiers" have decreased.

Heck, Bob Bennett himself came to the convention, and apparently (I wasn't there) he was cheered profusely, with the crowds demanding he give a speech. This is only two years after he was thrown out of office.

Still, there's enough people angry at Hatch to give him a run for his (considerable) money. FreedomWorks really wants to take Hatch out. I'm just looking forward to Hatch and Liljenquist tearing each apart in the primary; like I said, there might be a chance for the Democrat to win this year. Not a good chance, but a small chance.

[Zioneer]

if I were in charge of the Democratic Party of Utah, I would personally concentrate on propelling Cooke past Herbert. Horrible corporatism and hideously anti-technology votes aside, Hatch is a much, much riskier target to try and topple compared to the good Governor, particularly now the Democrats have possibly the best candidate they could possibly hope for. And I believe you mentioned something about Herbert leaving himself open thanks to scandals?

I think the Utah Democrats are focusing specifically on the Gubernatorial and Senate races, and with the Congressional races they're going with a "throw a candidate out and see what sticks" approach.

I agree that Herbert's an easier target, and that his scandals (I could go on and on about them, but this is the wrong thread, so ask me in the gubernatorial thread) make him (Herbert) weak, but Hatch is facing a primary, which also makes him weak. Hatch's GOP rival is floundering about, but will hopefully be strong enough to force Hatch to waste his money.

I think the Utah Democrats will finally get a little bit of funding from the National Democratic Party this time, especially if the polls (which aren't very common in Utah, oddly) start edging towards Cooke or Howell doing well in their respective races.