One potential opponent to singer/songwriter Orrin Hatch for reelection to the Senate
has dropped out, while another has already announced he's in.
Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson met personally with Sen. Orrin Hatch recently to assure the Republican he would not run for the Senate next year, squelching one of the state's juiciest political rumors that sprouted amid some tough talk from Hatch's campaign.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune,
...It reached the point that Hatch's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, was quoted in the UtahPolicy.com blog suggesting Matheson should recognize that "staying in the House where he will most likely be re-elected is much preferable to running against a 'sure winner' and ending his political career."
Hansen said he did not intend the statement as a threat, but an acknowledgment that Matheson could have harmed his potentially bright political career if he tried to make the jump to the Senate.
Within the last month the campaign conducted a poll on a variety of issues, including a hypothetical head-to-head contest between Matheson and Hatch and several other possible Democratic opponents. Hansen would not give specifics of the poll, but said Hatch had a strong showing against Matheson.
The Hatch campaign had more than $1 million in its bank account at the close of the most recent fund-raising reporting period, he said.
Matheson's stepping aside leaves an open Democratic field. Pete Ashdown, president of the Internet firm XMission, has said he will run against Hatch
Ashdown founded his company in 1993 as the first Internet provider in Utah, and it provides up to $50 a month in free services to any non profit organization in the state.