Utah Senate: Special Election?

[Adlai Stevenson]

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) "took to the airwaves Sunday to defend Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, "but even though Gonzales’s future hangs in jeopardy over the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys, the Utah Republican seemed shocked when NBC”s Meet the Press host Tim Russert suggested President Bush might ask Hatch to take over as attorney general," the Wall Street Journal reports.

"After insisting on the unlikely odds of such an event, Hatch said 'it’s up to the president,' but if duty called, “I would serve this country any way I could.”

However, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), "the Judiciary Committee chairman who would preside over confirmation hearings for a new attorney general, didn’t seem to think it was so farfetched," saying, "The rumor on the Hill this week was that he was actively running for it."

Read the transcript.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/04/02/hatch_eyes_attorney_general_job.html

Supposing that Hatch does become Attorney General and there was a special election for his seat, could Matheson run for it and be competetive? 

[Adlai Stevenson]

Doubtful. Matheson is safe in the House; I don't know why he'd want to jeopardize that by running for Senate.

If it was a special election in November this year he could run for the Senate without giving up his House seat. 

[Adlai Stevenson]

http://www.politics1.com/

Speculation continues to grow that six-term US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) -- former Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- is aggressively posturing behind the scenes to replace Al Gonzales in President Bush's Cabinet as the next Attorney General. Hatch would be certain to win swift Senate confirmation by a nearly unanimous vote. A Hatch appointment would also help improve Bush Administration relations on Capitol Hill. Numerous news reports, including inside-the-Beltway sources like Roll Call, all say Hatch very much wants the post as a nice way to close out his lengthy political career. Although Hatch was once a Presidential hopeful, most who know him say his real ambition for many years was to secure an appointment to the US Supreme Court. Now, at age 73, a realistic Hatch knows an appointment to the high court is most unlikely. If Hatch becomes AG, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman (R) would select an interim replacement who would be required to face voters next year in a special election for the remaining four-years of Hatch's current term. Several prominent Utah Republicans are already jockeying -- just in case -- to run next year.