Orrin Hatch wins Primary in Utah

New York Times ^ | 26 June 2012 | Election Bureau

[Vigilanteman]

With 43% of precincts reporting, veteran U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch is the projected winner over challenger Dan Liljenquist in a primary election held in tandem with the final presidential primary in the nation.

The 2-1 margin of victory was a surprise to some observers considering that Hatch's fellow former senator Bob Bennett was defeated at the convention even before the state primary vote in 2010.

[samadams2000]

Well I guess we can’t nail all of their skins to the wall.....

[MplsSteve]

That’s too bad. I hope the primary challenger put a scare into hatch though and he changes some of his ways.

OTOH, a big primary win like this could make him feel bullet-proof and he’ll still continue to be a pain in the butt.

[dead]

Escape Hatch survives again.

[LRoggy]

The Palin effect strikes again?

[Oatka]

Now many in Utah know how we in Arizona felt when our old RINO won the primary.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Look at it this way - prior to the rise of the Tea Party, Hatch facing a credible primary challenge would have been inconceivable. There’s a lot of work yet to be done, but the statists have been served notice.

[Vigilanteman]

Hatch was never as bad as McCain. He’s a genuinely nice guy who just lost his fire in the belly. Maybe the primary scare helped him rediscover it.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Now many in Utah know how we in Arizona felt when our old RINO won the primary.

Yup! At least we tried.

[VRWC For Truth]

Hatch was cooked until Palin stepped in like she did with McLoser. Hatch will screw Conservatives. Just watch.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Good.

[bkopto]

Well, time for the old RINO to go back to his old ways, now that he bamboozled the Utah primary voters.

[Artcore]

“Now many in Utah know how we in Arizona felt when our old RINO won the primary.”
________________________________________________

Hatch isn’t great, but he’s definitly NO McCain. I know Levin was pushing Hatch. I think Hatch still has some “conservative” in his bones. Hatch is best when he’s pi$$ed.

[EternalVigilance]

The 2-1 margin of victory was a surprise to some observers considering that Hatch's fellow former senator Bob Bennett was defeated at the convention even before the state primary vote in 2010.

Romney Republicanism buried the Tea Party in the Utah GOP in the interim. That's a fact.

It's an obvious harbinger of what is coming in the Republican Party everywhere henceforth. Take that to the bank.

It's time to build a principled alternative.

[Tzimisce]

It’s a great day to be liberal.

[conservative98]

This will be Hatch's last term. If you're going to put a new guy in, he should be a support the tea party agenda, which Dan says he does not.

Does Dan have a record to compare to? Or are we are going to be like Weiner Nation comparing Hatch who may not be perfect to Dan who just say the right words now?

[microgood]

I guess we will continue to run trillion dollar deficits ad infinitum.

[RaisingCain]

“Hatch isn’t great, but he’s definitly NO McCain. I know Levin was pushing Hatch. I think Hatch still has some “conservative” in his bones. Hatch is best when he’s pi$$ed.”

---

I take Levin endorsements with a grain of salt these days. Santorum’s claim to fame was purely on religious issues. Even his platform page started out with discussing the evils of pornography. It was obvious from the beginning that the image he was projecting, and the weakness of how easy it was to pin that image on him, would only divide the conservative vote. And I really doubt Levin comprehends that we’ve already lost the Presidential fight with Mittens as the nominee. He might win the Presidency, mind, but he’s not winning it for the base of the party. Count on that. His victory belongs to the GOPe.

I consider Santorum, with the help of people like Levin, the same kind of spoiler Huckabee was last time around. I hope I never see him in politics again. If I do, I’ll remind everyone that he endorsed Mittens twice in a row, and Specter for President, and Right to Work, and so on and so forth.

[wardaddy]

I’m gonna go with Mark Levin on this one as usual

Hatch ...imperfect ..has carried big water on SCOTUS nominees for GOP presidents

hence...I can live with him in the senate

likely his last term

[dadfly]

humm. i’m no fan of hatch (levin’s endorsement notwithstanding), and would support any conservative sounding opponent against hatch the fossil (boy do we need term limits), but the size of liljenquist’s loss tells me he was probably a very weak candidate. he should have done much better against hatch.

i’ll cut my losses. if he shows up again (even against hatch) i won’t support him.