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Team coverageCongressman Chris Cannon says he's glad he lost yesterday's primary election. He says now he can do more about the issues he cares about without the problems of being in office.
Cannon made those comments to Eyewitness News shortly after he conceded last night. Today we have more on what voters in Cannon's district can expect next.
After six terms as Utah's representative for the 3rd Congressional District, Cannon seemed to sense that this election would be his last. "My negatives are actually down. The Republican Party is like an anchor right now, on about everybody, and the message to Republicans is that they need to start saying what they actually believe," he said.
Yesterday, Cannon's Republican challenger Jason Chaffetz received 60 percent of the vote, while Cannon had only 40 percent. That's a huge margin considering yesterday's primary turnout in Salt Lake and Davis counties could have been the lowest ever.
In fact, Cannon blames the loss on low voter turnout. "The people of Utah have spoken. They spoke by not voting, they spoke by voting. He got more people out to vote, and congratulations to him for that. He got more people out to vote," he said.
But Cannon says he'll stay involved and may be able to do more off Capitol Hill. He also says he now supports Chaffetz.
In the primary election, Chaffetz took advantage of a mood for change. "I've got a message that says we're going to empower people, that we're going to represent Utah to Washington, that we have a mandate for change. We have to the way Washington, D.C., does business," he said.
He says he's going to continue to push for change with illegal immigration standards, the amount of national debt and $4 gas prices at the pump. "[To] the establishment this is a wake-up call to say: Hey, business as usual is not acceptable, and those who are willing to make the change will succeed," Chaffetz said.
But Chaffetz's far-right position on deporting illegal immigrants; his view of global warming as a sham; questions about the war, the federal budget and high gas prices all face a new challenge.
The Republican nominee's next opponent, Democrat Bennion Spencer, is prepared to cast himself as a moderate, Jim Matheson-style blue dog Democrat, and he thinks that will win votes.
"Our approach to solving energy, our approach to solving immigration ... I'm very mainstream, very logical, and people are going to take a look at me and feel comfortable voting for me," Spencer said.
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland says he believes the national party may pump money into Spencer's campaign against Chaffetz simply because the incumbent has been knocked out.
"We see opportunity, not just in Utah. I mean, the whole western United States is changing, becoming the most fertile ground for Democrats in this country," Holland said.
On the state level, Holland claims even some Republican voters may switch sides this November. "We have opportunities, we think, upwards of maybe 16 seats that have a chance," he said.
As far as voter turnout goes, political analyst Dan Jones says the low numbers did play a role in yesterday's results. But he also says the mood for change is high for November. "People who turned out seemed to be angry. They are angry about the way government is going. And if you look throughout the state, most incumbents got beat," he said.
Jones also says the Republican closed primary was another reason for turnout under 10 percent. "People get there and don't realize, they don't understand it. And they're an Independent or Democrat, and they say you have to register as a Republican to vote in our primary, and they get upset and walk out," he said.
It's something Jones says the Republican Party might consider changing.
Both Jason Chaffetz and Rep. Chris Cannon appeared on KSL Newsradio's "The Doug Wright Show" this morning. To listen to Doug's interviews with the candidates, click the related audio links.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
