UT-SEN 2018: Hatch seriously considering run

[RogueBeaver]

He backed off his retirement pledge a bit before, so not surprising IMO.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Huntsman or Josh Romney should primary him, or Matheson should run. He's not a bad senator by any means, but it's time for a change.

[Figueira]

I'm shocked!

[Vosem]

I'd really rather he retire considering how long he's been around, but this was entirely predictable.

[Blackacre]

Hope he Hatches a plan to get back into the Senate, or else he can kiss his chances of joining other recently returned Senators good-Bayh. All he has to do is win the Primary though, because Utah is a Rubio-red state. But if he tries and fails, this whole ordeal would just be a big Hassan on all of us here at Atlas. So he better start sending out e-mails and making phone Collins to get the resources he needs to win.

Another Senate term may turn out to be fool's Feingold for Hatch, but let me be Blunt: if he pulls this off, even compared to his colleagues, he'll be the ultimate comeback King.

Yes I know, my puns are terrible and Im going to Heck. I understand if you're feeling annoyed and Vitter that you sat through this.

...okay I'll stop now. But seriously, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Unlike most on the right, I don't consider seniority a crime. I do consider being a useless backbench establishment hack to be a crime, however. I'd love to see Mia Love primary him but I don't know nearly enough about Utah politics to speculate about that.

[SATW]

I like Hatch, but it is most likely time for some young blood for this seat. I hope he keeps his promise and retires.

[Heisenberg]

Unlike most on the right, I don't consider seniority a crime. I do consider being a useless backbench establishment hack to be a crime, however. I'd love to see Mia Love primary him but I don't know nearly enough about Utah politics to speculate about that.

Totally agree, seniority is a big plus.

I like Hatch, but it is most likely time for some young blood for this seat. I hope he keeps his promise and retires.

Breaking pledges, on the other had, is something I do not like. I think it's time for Hatch to just move on.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Tbh, I'd like to see Huntsman replacing him. He's relatively reasonable, and being an ambassador appointed by Obama, could work beyond the the aisle, which is something America seems to really need.

[Kingpoleon]

Jon Huntsman, Spencer Cox, Greg Bell, and Kraig Powell would all be great primary challengers. Mia Love or Joshua/Tagg Romney would be okay.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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[Vosem]

Seniority isn't a bad thing, but it's a tad hypocritical that Hatch made a key point in his first campaign of promising not to serve too long, and that he ran in his last campaign with a pledge of that term being his last, and he still intends to run for reelection. Seniority isn't a bad thing, and I would be a big opponent of term limits if they were a serious issue, but specifically Hatch needs to go.

He received a non-joke primary challenge in 2012; I wonder if that'll be the case again in 2018 if he does run for reelection. Aaron Osmond endorsed his opponent in 2012, and if he runs himself he would be a formidable challenger.

[Zioneer]

Unlike most on the right, I don't consider seniority a crime. I do consider being a useless backbench establishment hack to be a crime, however. I'd love to see Mia Love primary him but I don't know nearly enough about Utah politics to speculate about that.

If he sticks around and anyone notable challenges him, it's going to be Jason Chaffetz. Love might have star power, but Chaffetz has experience and institutional support, and even publicly thought of challenging Hatch in 2012.

If Hatch retires, Chaffetz will definitely run for his seat, maybe Mia Love as well, but if it's a challenge to a non-retiring Hatch, they won't split the vote. If Hatch sticks around and does not receive a challenge from one of those two, he will only get random state legislators as challengers. Maybe Josh Romney if he's really unlucky.

Though it's been rumored that Huntsman will run as an independent either way. And no, Huntsman splitting the vote would not elect a Democrat, not even Jim Matheson. Huntsman would become the de facto Democratic nominee, for lack of better options.

[Vega]

Huntsman or someone else should grow a pair and run against him.

[BuckeyeNut]

Why would Hunstman run as an Independent? He's going to caucus with the GOP regardless.

[Vosem]

Why would Hunstman run as an Independent? He's going to caucus with the GOP regardless.

Presumably because he can't get through a Republican convention in Utah anymore, since he was a Trump primary endorser (who disendorsed him in the general, weird pattern) and those conventions have taken a hard turn for Mike Lee-style movement conservatism since Huntsman was Governor, and if he still wants to run for President at some point, also because he could never get through a national Republican presidential primary.

Anyway, Huntsman was a very popular state Governor, but his political career since then (running against Romney, then being Trump-curious) can be attacked very easily in Utah. I'd expect an independent senatorial campaign to falter, whether against Hatch or against a successful Hatch primary foe (Aaron Osmond?).

[Blair]

I'd love a Romney Son go up against Huntsman; the bad blood between the families makes the RFK-LBJ rivalry look tame

[DavidB.]

Ugh. An 84-year old shouldn't be re-elected to the Senate. That said, I'd rather have Hatch than someone like Huntsman.

[Figueira]

Ugh. An 84-year old shouldn't be re-elected to the Senate. That said, I'd rather have Hatch than someone like Huntsman.

Why? What's the difference?

[hurricanehink]

Hope he Hatches a plan to get back into the Senate, or else he can kiss his chances of joining other recently returned Senators good-Bayh. All he has to do is win the Primary though, because Utah is a Rubio-red state. But if he tries and fails, this whole ordeal would just be a big Hassan on all of us here at Atlas. So he better start sending out e-mails and making phone Collins to get the resources he needs to win.

Another Senate term may turn out to be fool's Feingold for Hatch, but let me be Blunt: if he pulls this off, even compared to his colleagues, he'll be the ultimate comeback King.

Yes I know, my puns are terrible and Im going to Heck. I understand if you're feeling annoyed and Vitter that you sat through this.

...okay I'll stop now. But seriously, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.

I was feeling pungry this morning. Loved that As for Hatch, not a huge surprise. It shouldn't be a difficult race in 2018, and since he's been there that long, he probably doesn't want to retire and slow down his pace of life, not in such a Republican state. Granted, he'll probably watch to see where the Republican party goes after this year's election. If there's a party schism, who knows?

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Hope he Hatches a plan to get back into the Senate, or else he can kiss his chances of joining other recently returned Senators good-Bayh. All he has to do is win the Primary though, because Utah is a Rubio-red state. But if he tries and fails, this whole ordeal would just be a big Hassan on all of us here at Atlas. So he better start sending out e-mails and making phone Collins to get the resources he needs to win.

Another Senate term may turn out to be fool's Feingold for Hatch, but let me be Blunt: if he pulls this off, even compared to his colleagues, he'll be the ultimate comeback King.

Yes I know, my puns are terrible and Im going to Heck. I understand if you're feeling annoyed and Vitter that you sat through this.

...okay I'll stop now. But seriously, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.

That was actually pretty funny Toomey.

[Blackacre]

Hope he Hatches a plan to get back into the Senate, or else he can kiss his chances of joining other recently returned Senators good-Bayh. All he has to do is win the Primary though, because Utah is a Rubio-red state. But if he tries and fails, this whole ordeal would just be a big Hassan on all of us here at Atlas. So he better start sending out e-mails and making phone Collins to get the resources he needs to win.

Another Senate term may turn out to be fool's Feingold for Hatch, but let me be Blunt: if he pulls this off, even compared to his colleagues, he'll be the ultimate comeback King.

Yes I know, my puns are terrible and Im going to Heck. I understand if you're feeling annoyed and Vitter that you sat through this.

...okay I'll stop now. But seriously, I'm interested in seeing how this plays out.

I was feeling pungry this morning. Loved that As for Hatch, not a huge surprise. It shouldn't be a difficult race in 2018, and since he's been there that long, he probably doesn't want to retire and slow down his pace of life, not in such a Republican state. Granted, he'll probably watch to see where the Republican party goes after this year's election. If there's a party schism, who knows?

[aforementioned puns]

That was actually pretty funny Toomey.

I appreciate that! I got a real Kirk out of writing it

[Vega]

Why would Hunstman run as an Independent? He's going to caucus with the GOP regardless.

Presumably because he can't get through a Republican convention in Utah anymore, since he was a Trump primary endorser (who disendorsed him in the general, weird pattern) and those conventions have taken a hard turn for Mike Lee-style movement conservatism since Huntsman was Governor, and if he still wants to run for President at some point, also because he could never get through a national Republican presidential primary.

Anyway, Huntsman was a very popular state Governor, but his political career since then (running against Romney, then being Trump-curious) can be attacked very easily in Utah. I'd expect an independent senatorial campaign to falter, whether against Hatch or against a successful Hatch primary foe (Aaron Osmond?).

Huntsman played this year horribly, just awful. His main goal is (or was, now) to be the Secretary of State, but he should have just endorsed Clinton and hoped for her feeling bi-partisan.

[Indy Texas]

Evan McMullin should primary him.

[Kingpoleon]

Why would Hunstman run as an Independent? He's going to caucus with the GOP regardless.

Presumably because he can't get through a Republican convention in Utah anymore, since he was a Trump primary endorser (who disendorsed him in the general, weird pattern).

Huntsman never endorsed Trump in the primaries. He only praised him on campaign finance reform and offered no condemnations. He wrote op-eds with Lieberman, IIRC, praising Pataki and Kasich. Besides that, he was a bystander in the primaries.