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Issues/News>
Cannon will face strong foes...(SL Tribune)
October 2, 2007
Cannon will face strong foes within own party in bid for
new congressional term
Jason Chaffetz and David Leavitt step up
By Dan Harrie and Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
The 2008 general election is more than a year away but Utah
Congressman Chris Cannon already is attracting serious
challengers.
Jason Chaffetz, former chief of staff to Gov. Jon
Huntsman Jr., announced Monday he was officially
challenging Cannon for the Republican nomination in the 3rd
Congressional District.
Not to be outdone, former Juab County attorney David
Leavitt said he has raised $100,000 over the last several
weeks toward his bid for the spot on the GOP ticket.
Chaffetz, at a news conference in West Jordan City
Hall, said Cannon has "had his chance" for more than 10
years in Congress and has failed.
"What [Cannon] says and what he does are often two
different things," Chaffetz charged.
He blasted the congressman for voting for President
Bush's immigration reform plan, for No Child Left Behind
education reform and for having what Chaffetz called an
"appalling" record of missing votes.
While Chaffetz said he didn't plan to focus the
campaign on immigration, as Cannon's last two challengers
had done, Chaffetz said Cannon's record is "just
unbelievable."
"He is fundamentally and principally wrong on
immigration from top to bottom," he said. "He's been a
pro-illegal alien supporter. What he sponsors, co-sponsors
and votes for is amnesty."
Cannon's chief of staff, Joe Hunter, said that "we're
not going to respond to everything" that Chaffetz raised,
but Cannon's stance on immigration has been raised "over
and over again" and voters see through it.
"Cannon's record on immigration is very clear. It is
not pro-illegal immigrant, it is not pro-amnesty," Hunter
said.
Chaffetz says 3rd District residents are frustrated and
disappointed with their representation and they want a
change. He says he has personally talked about the issue
with most of the 1,200 Republican delegates and has raised
''tens of thousands of dollars'' toward the race.
Leavitt, meantime, said that when he decided to run for
the seat he fully expected Chaffetz to get into the race,
so the announcement doesn't change how he's approaching his
campaign.
"The reason why I'm running is this: While I don't have
any personal qualms with the kind of man Chris Cannon is, I
believe the 3rd District in the state of Utah ought to be a
seat that is a leadership seat rather than just another
seat in Congress," he said. "Utah's vision for America and
life can be advanced by someone in Congress who can stand
up and do that."
He said he has raised more than $100,000 since kicking
off his fund-raising effort in August.
Reports for the quarter are due Oct. 15.
He plans to begin meeting with delegates in the fall,
and says he doesn't think there is enough interest to start
those meetings now.
Leavitt is the brother of former Gov. Mike Leavitt, now
the secretary of Health and Human Services, and was best
known for his successful prosecution of polygamist Tom
Green in 2000.
Hunter said the challenges Cannon has faced in the last
two elections is not a reflection of some level of
frustration with the job he is doing.
"It has more to do with the 3rd District in which you
have a very energetic, vibrant Republican Party . . . that
tends to engender intraparty challenges," Hunter said.
(Tip of the day: Jason's last name is pronounced "Chay-fits")
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