Hatch 'sorry to see' Lee called an 'embarrassment' to Utah


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SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Orrin Hatch said Tuesday he was "sorry to see" that Utah businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr. called Sen. Mike Lee an embarrassment to the state, but wasn't ready to endorse Lee's re-election.

Huntsman said "Mike Lee is an embarrassment to the state of Utah" in an article posted to Politico.com on Monday about Utah's junior senator bracing for a primary challenge in 2016 from the state's political establishment.

He also described Lee as "an extremist" whose role in last year's federal government shutdown cost the Huntsman Cancer Institute millions of dollars and hurt businesses located outside national parks.

Hatch said both Huntsman and his son, former Utah governor and GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr., are successful because they have "strong feelings" that they're willing to put into action.

But Hatch said he was surprised by Huntsman Sr.'s statements about Lee.

"Frankly, that was unexpected by me," Hatch told KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright. "I would have preferred not to have that because Mike, he is a good person and he's trying to do his job based upon his own feelings and his own ideas.”

The senator said because both Huntsman and Lee are friends of his, he is “sorry to see there’s that kind of feeling” expressed by Huntsman. But Hatch doesn’t want to join in the debate over Lee’s future — at least not yet.

“I will make my mind up when the time comes. It’s a little early to be getting involved in things like that,” Hatch said. “And who knows how the political winds are going to blow at that time.”

Boyd Matheson, Lee’s senior adviser, said in a prepared statement that Lee "believes Utahns regularly demonstrate that they can talk about their political differences respectfully and can disagree without making it personal.”

Matheson said Lee stands for all Utahns and “will continue to be an unapologetic advocate for Utah families who think Washington should work for them and not the other way around.”

Lee's senatorial future questioned

Although Hatch was careful not to criticize Lee, who won office in 2010 after GOP delegates voted out longtime Sen. Bob Bennett, he did suggest Lee needs to broaden his support beyond the tea party wing of the party.

Hatch, who defeated a tea party-backed challenger in the 2012 Republican Party primary, warned, “You can’t be devoted to just one strain of the Republican Party without making sure you represent everybody, and I think that’s where some of this resentment comes.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduces Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on election night in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. (Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News, File)
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduces Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on election night in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. (Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News, File)

Politico reported that “some powerful establishment Republicans in Utah are tired of Lee’s hardline positions,” including Huntsman and Zions Bank President Scott Anderson, and could make him the nation’s first tea party senator ousted by that wing of the GOP.

The article cites Lee’s political battles alongside Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that led to the government shutdown and recently to outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., getting some of President Barack Obama’s controversial nominees confirmed.

Anderson said Tuesday that because of his position with the bank, he would not discuss his personal feelings about any candidate, including Lee.

“You shouldn’t take that one way or the other,” Anderson said, noting he has held fundraisers for Lee and supported him in the past. The pair met at the bank Monday, he said.

“I think highly of him, and I appreciate the service he is providing to the state and to the country,” Anderson said, adding that he was not interviewed for the Politico article.

Huntsman Sr. was with his family in Hawaii on Tuesday and was not available for comment.

Chris Karpowitz, co-director of BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, was also surprised by Huntsman’s comments, but said Lee could be tough to beat in a primary.

“I think it’s startling to see a respected businessman criticize a sitting senator in that way, but I would imagine part of the point was to startle,” Karpowitz said. “It reflects some frustration with Sen. Lee from the business community and more moderate Republicans.”

And, Karpowitz said, the “forceful language” used by Huntsman indicates Lee can expect a challenge from within the party in 2016.

What the voters think

Polling by BYU shows Lee is a polarizing figure, Karpowitz said, but 50 percent of voters in October held a favorable opinion of him, up from 40 percent a year ago amid the impact of the shutdown.

“The good news for Sen. Lee is his favorables among Republicans have rebounded significantly from where they were a year ago,” Karpowitz said. “He has rebuilt his standing among many Republicans, so I think that makes the prospect of a challenge more daunting.”

Just who could take on Lee for the GOP nomination in two years remains to be seen, though the list of potential candidates includes the party’s former chairman, Thomas Wright; Josh Romney, the son of the party’s former presidential nominee, Mitt Romney; Kirk Jowers, head of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics; and former governors Mike Leavitt and Huntsman Jr.

Hatch, who said it was too soon to consider endorsing Lee’s re-election bid, said he considers all of those being mentioned friends.

“All I can say is we have a lot of good people out here who can run for office. It’s up to them. I just want to make sure everything is fair and nobody is mistreated or misrepresented,” Hatch said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.”

Karpowitz said Hatch’s reluctance at this point in the race is telling.

“The choice not to get involved indicates an openness to some alternative to Sen. Lee,” Karpowitz said. “I do think the fact that he’s not strongly endorsing anyone right now indicates there is likely to be some competition for the nomination.”

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Lisa Riley Roche

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