Poll: Romney more popular with all Utah Republicans than with delegates

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SALT LAKE CITY -- Political careers are hanging in the balance the morning before the Utah state party conventions.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, may not be getting as big of a boost as expected from Mitt Romney, who is scheduled to introduce him at Saturday's GOP convention at the Salt Palace.

Bennett hopes Romney will be the wild card that draws more delegates to his side. But a Dan Jones & Associates poll for KSL TV and the Deseret News shows Romney isn't as popular with delegates as he is with the general population. Seventy-six percent of Utah Republicans pick Romney as their top choice for president. That drops to 54 percent among GOP delegates.

Bennett faces seven GOP challengers. They all claim the three-term incumbent is not conservative enough for Utah. Recent polls show Bennett is still favored by a plurality of all Utah voters, but among delegates he trails attorney Mike Lee. Some polls show him also trailing entrepreneur Tim Bridgewater.

There will be three rounds of voting at Saturday's convention. All but three Senate candidates will be eliminated in the first round; another will be eliminated in the second round. The final two candidates will compete in the third round. If a candidate gets 60 percent of delegate votes, they will win the party nomination. Otherwise, the top two candidates will face off in a primary election June 22.