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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Steve Olsen wasn't planning to run for Congress.
But then the former Republican wrote a booklet titled, "Why Most Utahns Are Democrats But Just Don't Know It Yet."
Democratic Party leaders read it last winter and told Olsen: "We'd like you to become one of our messengers."
So he's challenging U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, a Republican from Brigham City, in Utah's 1st District, which covers the state's northwestern corner, stretches east of the Great Salt Lake and includes tourist-heavy Park City and downtown Salt Lake City.
"It's a longshot, but it's a shot," Olsen, 49, said. "You have to be honest."
Indeed, Bishop has won two terms with ease, racking up 61 percent of the vote in 2002 and 68 percent two years later. The former teacher landed in Congress after serving as Utah House speaker and state Republican chairman.
Bishop, 55, said he "doesn't want to die in Washington," but believes Utah is best served by lawmakers with seniority.
"Every year you go back there you get to do more," he said. "I've been more successful that I thought a sophomore could be."
After his first election, Bishop served on House committees that had jurisdiction over key areas in Utah, especially public lands and Hill Air Force Base in Ogden.
He dropped those seats in 2005-06 for a single assignment on the Rules Committee, where lawmakers determine how each bill will be debated on the House floor and which amendments will be considered.
It's an insider's role, complete with horse trading and handshakes among House members. But Bishop insists it's a job that has served his district well.
"Everything has to come through the Rules Committee," he said. "Those areas that I care about I still deal with. The position pays off more than I anticipated."
Bishop said he had a key hand in a law that created the 100,000-acre Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area, cutting off the potential for a rail spur to deliver nuclear waste to Utah's west desert. The U.S. Interior Department recently backed off plans to allow stockpiles on an Indian reservation.
"A big win. It was cool," he said.
Bishop acknowledged that he mostly votes with Republican leaders and President Bush because "most of the time they're right."
He opposed the Patriot Act, a law that gives federal agencies certain powers to investigate terrorist threats. Bishop said "it went too far," especially in putting responsibilities on banks and the trucking industry.
He was not in Congress when lawmakers voted to use force in Iraq and does not favor a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops.
"Those decisions have to be made by leaders in the field, not political leaders in Washington," Bishop said. "When politicians put limits on the military, you have the problems that were exhibited in Vietnam."
Olsen, an engineer, said Bishop has done a "good job" of protecting Utah's interests in Washington. But Olsen is promising to be more independent, teaming with conservative Democrats and "principled mavericks" to shape policy.
Olsen said the Republican-controlled Congress spends too much money and protects wealthy Americans at the expense of people who earn less. He opposes elimination of the estate tax and favors term limits -- eight years for House members, 12 in the Senate.
"The Republican Party has drifted from its core principles. Fiscal responsibility has been largely abandoned," said Olsen, who admired Ronald Reagan but wandered away from the GOP about five years ago.
On the Iraq war, Olsen said he would bring together foreign-policy experts from both parties, military leaders, the Iraqi government and foreign allies to decide "where we go from here."
"We need to come up with an intelligent way to get out of there pretty soon. ... The Bush administration says stay the course. The course is not working," Olsen said.
He said he and his wife probably will spend $30,000 of their own money on the congressional race. Olsen contributed $35 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which helps get Democrats elected nationwide, but doubts the group will invest in the 1st District contest.
"Unless a miracle occurs," he said, "the majority of funding will come from us."
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On the Net: Steve Olsen: www.steveolsen.org U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop: www.house.gov/robbishop/
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
