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SALT LAKE CITY — Former Utah Sen. Dan Liljenquist appeared Saturday on Fox News to discuss his race against incumbent U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch.
Liljenquist said the biggest concerns for Utahns right now are debt and federal spending.
"They are looking for new leaders in Washington who have a track record of taking that on and that's what I've done and our message is resonating," he said.
Debt and spending are real issues that cannot be avoided, according to the former senator.
"Reality is not negotiable," he said.
Specter to Utahns: Don't dump Hatch
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter on Saturday pleaded with Utahns to keep U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch in office.
Specter told MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry that Washington is not a friendly climate for moderate incumbents.
"Cannibals are devouring senators," he said. "If you don't follow orthodoxy, vote the party line right down the line, if you have a 93-percent conservative voting record like Bob Bennett in Utah — that is not conservative enough."
Specter urged Utahns to avoid electing a tea party candidate over a GOP "establishment" candidate, as he said has been the pattern.
"The cannibals function to cost the Republicans the senate seat in Colorado and Delaware and Nevada, almost in Alaska, and now Orrin Hatch is in jeopardy in Utah," he said. "I hope that people in Utah will … come out and vote to make sure that Orrin Hatch is not cannibalized."
Evangelicals praise Romney's defense of Christian values
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hit the right note with evangelicals Saturday while delivering a commencement address at Liberty University.
Romney forcefully defended in his address traditional Christian values, including his definition of marriage.
"As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate," he said. "So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman."
Romney took the opportunity to take a firmer stance on issues on which he has in the past been criticized for being too soft, including abortion, birth control coverage and other issues of religious freedom.
"Religious liberty is the first freedom in our Constitution," he said. "And whether the cause is justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy and the sick, or mercy for the child waiting to be born, there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action."
The candidate was praised for acknowledging his theological differences with evangelical Christians while maintaining that he stands firm on values-based issues.
"It was an acknowledgment that the issues that social conservatives and evangelicals care about are important issues to Gov. Romney and as he sees them [as] part of a successful economic platform for the country," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins told Pilot Online.
Perkins said Romney's advantage was heightened by Pres. Obama's announcement Wednesday of the president's unequivocal support for gay marriage.
"I think he touched on the key issues that are important to social conservatives," Perkins said.
Betty White effectively endorses Obama
Actress Betty White on Friday said she typically avoids politics, but strongly prefers one candidate this election cycle.
White told the Associated Press she "very, very much favors" Pres. Barack Obama in the election, because of what the president has done and "how he represents us."
White said she usually avoids voicing support for a single candidate because she does not want to alienate her fans.
