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SALT LAKE CITY -- A recent poll conducted by KSL/Desert News predicts one Utah congressional incumbent will have a serious re-election challenge ahead of him.
Facing re-election at a unique time in his 35 years in office, Sen. Orrin Hatch encountered both fans and critics at Saturday's Republican State convention.
A tough fight is brewing for Hatch as he fights off criticism from his own party. According to the poll conducted by Dan Jones for KSL and the Deseret News, 59 percent of voters said Hatch has been in office too long and that it is time to elect someone new.
The incumbent is always under attack and always starts out a little low. So that doesn't mean anything. We're going to win this.
–Sen. Orrin Hatch
Only 38 percent of voters said Hatch should be re-elected because of his senority.
"The incumbent is always under attack and always starts out a little low," said Hatch. "So that doesn't mean anything. We're going to win this."
The question now is: who could be the candidate to replace Sen. Hatch?
On the Republican side, Congressman Jason Chaffetz is leaving his future open. His latest t-shirts simply say: "Jason Chaffetz 2012." Chaffetz said he hasn't decided if he'll run against Hatch, but according to the poll, Hatch and Chaffetz would be in a dead heat if the race were held today. The poll gave Chaffetz a slight edge at 41 percent, with Hatch garnering in 40 percent of the votes.
"We're not here to say that all the country's ills are due to Sen. Hatch, but perhaps it's time for some fresh blood," Chaffetz said.
After more than 30 years as Utah's longest-termed senator, Orrin Hatch may be fighting for his life in the 2012 congressional election.
Chaffetz later told KSL Newsradio: "I'll make an announcement after Labor Day, but everybody has a lot of respect for Sen. Hatch and the great work he's done. But I think people are ready to go in a new direction -- let somebody new give it a go. We have some major challenges facing us with the deficit and I think the majority of Utahns want to see somebody else tackle these major challenges that are ahead of us."
A separate campaign from the group FreedomWorks has targeted Sen. Hatch as the first Republican candidate to replace for the 2012 election season.
For Democrats, Congressman Jim Matheson's name is frequently brought up, even though he hasn't announced a desire to run against Hatch. When asked to comment about the poll, Matheson declined to comment.
The results of the poll also show Matheson in a dead heat with Sen. Hatch at 47 percent.
The poll also showed a race between Chaffetz and Matheson would be too close to call, with Chaffetz receiving 46 percent of the votes and Matheson receiving 45 percent.
Even though Hatch said he's in a different spot than former senator Robert Bennett -- ousted at the Republican state convention a year ago -- he's clearly in a different spot than he was six years ago when he won by a landslide.
Email: rpiatt@ksl.com
