Behind a Utah Republican's Loss (hee hee hee)

[stevedeshazer]

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1817994,00.html

<snip>

In just the latest in a series of unexpected election year outcomes, incumbent Representative Chris Cannon lost his bid for re-election in the Republican primary in Utah's 3rd district, one of the most conservative districts in the country.

First-time candidate Jason Chaffetz defeated Cannon by a margin of 60 to 40%. Chaffetz told supporters after, "I think we've been given a mandate to return the Republican Party to its core conservative principles." Cannon blamed low voter turnout for the defeat, telling the Salt Lake Tribune that what happened was "a revolution. A revolution by the people sitting at home." (translation: "It's not MY fault! - sd)

Elected in 1996, Cannon never enjoyed the security of some incumbents. "Chris Cannon has long had a lower favorability rating among his constituents than his fellow officeholders," said Quin Monson, a political science professor at Brigham Young University. "He never connected all that well with his constituents." Though Cannon was re-elected five times, his support for a guest-worker immigration program, and for a measure permitting states to charge in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants, hurt his standing among anti-immigration groups. Partly as a result, he faced primary tests in both 2004 and 2008.

Chaffetz, the new nominee, is a familiar face in Utah politics: he was the former campaign manager for popular Governor Jon Huntsman, for whom he also served as chief of staff. Chaffetz was also known statewide as a placekicker on the BYU football team in the late 1980s. (translation: he's even MORE reactionary than Cannon! - sd)

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I love the smell of Republican-on-Republican political violence.

[Hydra]

1. We were happy to see Cannon go

Too bad we can't get any blues in here, but at least we celebrate the unseating of the various good old boys one by one.