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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- When Sen. Orrin Hatch was a fifth-grader in Pittsburgh, a larger, older student regularly began picking on the musically inclined, lanky Hatch.
"I was terrified he was going to kill me," Hatch said. "It was tremendously humiliating." But also inspiring for Hatch, who quickly began training to box by hitting an old duffel bag hanging from a tree outside of his house.
"I got so I could hit like a bull," he said. "We were playing soccer one day and he threw me down in the mud. ... I beat the tar out of him. I never backed away."
The older boy never challenged him again after Hatch delivered a knock-out punch.
The Republican Hatch has been aggressively standing up to challengers ever since, an attitude that has carried over to his political career as he seeks a record -- for Utah -- sixth six-year term in office.
Unfortunately for Democrat Pete Ashdown, Hatch sent a message years ago to Democrats that he could win and win big if challenged. After Hatch's first term, he defeated popular Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson with 58 percent of the vote. Hatch has never been seriously challenged since, winning subsequent elections with as much as 69 percent of the vote.
Some of that can be attributed to an always growing level of conservatism in Utah, where Republican presidential candidates have steadily seen their margins of victory increase from 55 percent in 1960 with Richard Nixon to 72 percent in 2004 with George W. Bush.
But Ashdown, who has never held an elected office, sees another reason Hatch regularly routs his opponents.
Incumbency gives Hatch, 72, and others an almost insurmountable fundraising advantage that the federal government should seek to curb by requiring revenue sharing among candidates, Ashdown contends.
Not surprisingly, the latest campaign finance reports show Ashdown's campaign had raised a fraction of the money -- $92,000 -- compared with Hatch at $3.2 million, through June 30.
A recent poll suggests Hatch could win this election by knockout. Among 922 voters, Hatch led Ashdown 62 percent to 25 percent with a margin of error of 3.3 percent, according to the poll conducted for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV Sept. 25-28.
Ashdown, who founded Utah's first Internet service provider company, XMission, said he could loan himself money and seek to "buy" the election with a sustained advertising campaign.
"But I believe that's what I'm fighting against," said Ashdown, 39, of Salt Lake City.
Ashdown is so concerned with eliminating an incumbent's financial advantage that, if elected, he is pledging to step down from office after three terms if that advantage can't be eliminated. Ashdown sent notarized letters to state Republican leaders outlining that pledge so he could be held accountable if elected.
He's just as concerned about advantages multiple-term senators have once they get to Washington, D.C. He favors eliminating the Senate's seniority system for committee assignments in favor of a lottery. Such a move would strip senators like Hatch of much of their influence.
But Hatch, who claims Salt Lake City residency, sees his seniority as one of the reasons he should be sent back to Washington. He is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Committee on Finance and the Select Committee on Intelligence.
Hatch has helped usher through legislation toughening child pornography laws and making downloading music illegally a prosecutable crime. Hatch himself is a successful songwriter. He has also defended the Bush administration's Supreme Court appointees.
But he is perhaps best known for sponsoring a bill that would have amended the Constitution to allow states to prohibit desecration of the American flag. It failed this spring by one vote. It's a bill Hatch is passionate about and one he says is "morally right." He sponsors the bill every year.
Ashdown said he doesn't mind debating the flag amendment, but there are other more pressing issues Congress should be addressing. He considers Hatch's preoccupation with the flag amendment an example of Hatch being out of touch with his constituents.
Ashdown believes he could do a better job directly communicating with Utah residents by personally responding to e-mails, making his calendar public and communicating over the Internet through blogs.
"I feel like I'm breaking the mold for constituent services," Ashdown said.
Hatch takes offense to being labeled out of touch. He said he and his staff regularly communicate with constituents and that his values, including the flag desecration amendment, are in line with most Utah residents.
Hatch, who opposes abortion, favors embryonic stem cell research as a way to treat diseases such as cancer. He said advocating stem cell research would be one of his most pressing agenda items if he's re-elected.
"It is becoming the most important medical research in the world," said Hatch, adding he doesn't believe life begins in a petri dish.
Ashdown, who also favors removing restrictions on stem cell research, said his primary goal in the Senate would be to reshape the nation's energy policy so that within 10 years America is no longer dependent on foreign energy sources.
Ashdown acknowledges that winning the election will be difficult just as implementing the policies he's advocating would be. But he sees himself much like Hatch did years ago -- willing to fight against a bigger, stronger opponent, even if it means being pushed in the mud a few times.
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On the Net: U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch www.orrin2006.com Pete Ashdown www.peteashdown.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
