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Richard Piatt and Jon Dunn ReportingCongressman Chris Cannon hopes First Lady Laura Bush will help sway voters to pick him in the June 27 primary.
Cannon faces a serious challenge from newcomer John Jacob, who is critical of Cannon's work on immigration reform.
Both candidates plan to pull out all the stops in this last week before the primary. For both Chris Cannon and John Jacob, that means endorsements, TV ads, and spending a lot of money.
Voice of U.S. First Lady, Laura Bush: "This is Laura Bush. I'm asking you to vote for Chris Cannon in this Tuesday's Republican primary for Congress."
The voice of first lady Laura Bush could be coming over your phone line this week, if you live in the Third Congressional District. She and the President are powerful voices, supporting Congressman Chris Cannon in a primary race that even he admits is a tough one.
Rep. Chris Cannon, (R) Utah: "I vote very consistently in favor of enforcing against illegal immigration."
"What about the 35-million legal immigrants that aren't getting the benefits the illegal immigrants are getting?"
John Jacob, Cannon's challenger in the primary, has helped push the immigration issue so hard, the race is now attracting national attention. Political analysts say a vote to oust Cannon could influence the path of immigration reform in Congress.
John Jacob, (R) Candidate For Congress: "Chris can't have it both ways. He can be on the president's side, or he can be on the side against illegal immigration. He can't have it both ways."
At Cannon's campaign headquarters, it is work as usual. But, in a flurry of public appearances and debates, Congressman Cannon finds himself on the defensive for his work on immigration reform.
If nothing else, Cannon hates that his work is cast as working toward amnesty.
Rep. Chris Cannon, (R) Utah: "I don't know what kind of change he wants when he keeps saying amnesty. He's for amnesty, when he's not even sure he knows what kind of change he wants to promote."
Cannon would like to talk about other issues, too. But Jacob insists illegal immigration is so serious, it is tied to those other issues.
John Jacob, (R) Candidate For Congress: "It's the rule of law. And if you don't follow the law you have anarchy. That's what's ending up now, is anarchy."
So far, Jacob says he's spent about 375-thousand dollars on his campaign. Cannon says he's spent about 589-thousand dollars. That's a lot of money.
But both candidates say this is a race with a lot at stake.
