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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is leaning on one of the most well-known names in the state to help him win a seventh term. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is heading into the final weekend before Super Tuesday, lent his voice to a radio ad launched today by the Hatch campaign. In the ad Romney, who endorsed Hatch in September, explains the importance of Hatch’s potential chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee — one of Hatch’s leading arguments for re-election — and encourages voters to attend local precinct caucuses on March 15 to elect delegates to the state convention. “We...

Governor Gary Herbert is not endorsing Senator Orrin Hatch as he’s done in the past. Herbert says he has his “own race to run” and it’s best to stay neutral. The governor’s comments come after Hatch announced his support for the governor in his re-election bid. Hatch says he knows the Senate race is a controversial race and he understands that Herbert doesn’t want to weigh in.

Former Utah state Sen. Dan Liljenquist announced today that he is challenging Sen. Orrin Hatch at the state Republican convention in April. “It’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up and take on the new challenges of today,” Liljenquist says in a 43-second announcement video posted to his campaign website. “It’s time for us to live within our means as a country and to balance our budget. It’s time to tackle the entitlement spending that threatens us all. And it’s time to return to the conservative principles that make this country great.” Liljenquist is the first major...

I have grown cynical of party politics in mature democracies, including the most exciting democracy of all, the United States. In the middle of a spectrum exclusively defined by Republicans and Democrats, personality and style must be favored over platforms that few candidates are ever able to implement. So many people are bored by politics in the U.S. that half of the voters don’t bother to vote. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If politics does not affect the daily life of citizens, to the extent that most can choose to ignore it, then some wisdom has been found...

Mitt Romney's top ten is made up of Goldman Sachs, followed by Credit Suisse (Switzerland), Morgan Stanley, Barclays (UK), Bank of America and JP Morgan. In contrast Romney's co-frontrunner in Iowa, Ron Paul, has a top three donor list made up of the US Army, US Navy and US Airforce.

The Club for Growth PAC endorsed state Rep. Carl Wimmer on Wednesday in the Republican primary battle for Utah’s new 4th district. Calling him a “free market champion,” Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said, “Wimmer is exactly the type of principled fiscal conservative we need in Washington. Carl will fight against big government and wasteful spending in Washington with as much force as he did in Utah.” Wimmer is expected to face at least two others — state Rep. Stephen Sandstrom and Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love — in the competitive open seat primary. Sandstrom officially announced his campaign...

Republican White House hopeful Jon Huntsman is calling on rival Herman Cain to disclose all of the details about the allegations of sexual harassment that topped the headlines last week. In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, the former Utah governor said that Cain is “a decent man and a good candidate,” but the allegations are a distraction that has taken the focus away from more important issues. “It’s up to Herman Cain to get the information out and get it out in total,” Huntsman said. “That’s important because we’ve got some real issues to discuss in this campaign...

A poll unveiled this week from American Research Group shows that three Republican presidential candidates -- U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska -- are gaining serious momentum in Iowa, site of the first presidential caucus. Bachmann, who declared her candidacy in June and has been surging in polls at both the national and state levels, topped the poll with 21 percent. Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts placed second with 18 percent. Paul, who was the Libertarian candidate in 1988 and ran for the Republican nomination in...

In the past few weeks we’ve seen the media scrambling to promote a cat fight between Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. As the UK’s Telegraph recently wrote: The first shots have been fired in what could become an ugly battle between Sarah Palin and her potential rival Michele Bachmann for the Republican presidential nomination. [...] A Republican consultant who declined to be named because he is aligned with a rival camp, said: “The claws are out. It’s the cat fight everyone has been waiting for – Queen Sarah being taken on by the Palin mini-me.” This is all obviously designed...

Looking at the current GOP field, I share what seems to be the ubiquitous feeling of “blah.” Apart from Michele Bachmann, no one in the field appears to be serious about beating Obama, and the two guys getting the most love from the mainstream media, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, are destined to lose if they secure the Republican nomination. To be honest, just the fact that the mainstream media keeps them front and center should be warning enough for every lucid Republican. After all, this is the same way the media carried John McCain through the primaries in 2008:...

President Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist is dismissive of the Republicans who want his boss' job, saying they are eager to criticize the Democratic incumbent without offering substantive ways to help the country. David Axelrod says it's too early to start sizing up the competition, but he took on the emerging field of candidates when asked to assess the GOP' first major debate of the campaign season last Monday in New Hampshire. Republicans at that forum condemned Obama's handling of the economy and pledged to repeal his health care overhaul....

Last weekend, my dinner partner, a self-described "Theodore Roosevelt Republican, very disturbed and discouraged by the Tea Party movement," detailed for me the reasons Jon Huntsman Jr. could not win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. "He is intelligent, attractive, has proven leadership credentials as a businessman and former governor, and would be best suited to take on Obama in a general election. So, of course, our party won't nominate him." Joking aside, rumors about the current U.S. ambassador to China (he is resigning that post effective April 31) and his future plans have the Washington chattering class buzzing. The entity...

Republicans must "be careful" before nominating a presidential candidate identified with the Tea Party movement, a veteran former senator said Friday evening. Former Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) warned his party against nominating a candidate too quickly after the early caucuses and primaries, urging the GOP to instead pursue someone with more national appeal. "If you're going to nominate a national candidate, don't make the mistake of assuming that those who attend the early caucuses and the early primaries speak for the nation as a whole," Bennett said on Fox News. "If you're going to have a national candidate, you'd better...

Does Mike Huckabee really hate Mitt Romney so much he'd run for president just for the chance to throw haymakers at his old rival? As a new poll shows the two Republicans running neck and neck against President Obama in the 2012 presidential race, the rivalry between Romney and Huckabee that began during the 2008 campaign resurfaced Monday when Politico published a story titled "Huckabee throws a Mitt fit." Click to enlarge Associated Press Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee From the archive News analysis: Analysis: Why Jon Huntsman Jr. may be running for president – Jan. 31, 2011 Huckabee: Israel...

Today's highlighted links of the LDS Church and its members in news coverage include Huffington Post-published predictions of a Mormon in the White House and the Book of Mormon on the New York Times' best-seller list within the next two years as well as a look at Utah Catholics anxious to share Temple Square with their out-of-state peers. HuffPo's "What Will Be The Top Religion Stories of 2012" offering leads off with two bold predictions regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "1. "2. The Book of Mormon will be on the New York Times Bestsellers list throughout...

LAYTON -- A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can become president of the United States of America, says Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush. "Absolutely," said Rove, who was in Layton on Thursday night for a stop-over to address a room full of fellow Republicans at the Davis Conference Center. While he was at it, Rove, who served as the keynote speaker for the Davis County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner, autographed copies of his book. More than 400 people attended the event at a cost of $50 per person, which...

SALT LAKE CITY -- We're a few days past the official announcement that Jon Huntsman Jr. will resign the U.S. ambassadorship to China, presumably to run for the White House in 2012. At this point, prominent political commentators seem to be generally taking one of two positions: either that Huntsman made a very bad decision to run now, or that this is what he needs to do to set himself up to be a Republican frontrunner in 2016. Almost nobody in the blogosphere who isn't associated with Newsweek believes Huntsman has a legitimate shot at winning the 2012 presidential election....

Put Jon Huntsman Jr., the U.S. ambassador to China and former governor of Utah, on the shortlist of potentially strong GOP candidates for president or vice president in 2012. It is time for the Great Mentioner in American politics to mention Huntsman as a major rising star with a great political future. He is the kind of political leader most Americans seek, long on experience and achievement and far removed from the vicious attack politics most voters abhor. As the president speaks tonight, the state of the union is simple. Americans want more jobs in an economy that lifts all...

Jon Huntsman, the U.S. Ambassador to China and a former Republican Governor of Utah, has hinted he might run for President, Newsweek reported on Saturday. President Obama convinced Huntsman to resign his post as Utah Governor in 2009 to become the ambassador to China. At the time, there was some speculation that Huntsman, a moderate, could challenge Obama in the 2012 presidential race. David Plouffe, Obama's chief campaign manager in 2008, had even said Huntsman was the only candidate who made him "a wee bit queasy" in the 2012 election. According to The Huffington Post, "when Obama selected Huntsman for...

State Returns from SC (polls close at 7pm EST): http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/16213/28352/en/summary.html From NC (polls close at 730 EST) http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/17242/28326/en/summary.html For Utah (Polls Close 10pmEST) http://electionresults.utah.gov/xmlData/300010.html If anyone has better links, please share them. GO Haley, Scott, and Lee!