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Issues/News>
Chaffetz Announces Campaign (Daily Herald)
October 2, 2007
Joe Pyrah - DAILY HERALD
Two Republican heavyweights came out swinging at Chris
Cannon on Monday.
Former Gov. Jon Huntsman chief of staff Jason Chaffetz
announced his campaign to challenge Cannon for Utah's 3rd
District congressional seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives in front of a half-dozen TV cameras.
Chaffetz, an Alpine resident, didn't hesitate to jab at
Cannon, whom he accused of blowing 10 years of Republican
dominance by helping to double the federal budget, dodging
the illegal immigration issue and voting for intrusive
federal education standards such as No Child Left Behind.
"They simply didn't get it done," said Chaffetz, who added
that he wants to cut entitlement programs such as Medicare,
Social Security and the hotly contested CHIP program in
favor of citizens investing their own money.
Also in the ring is former Juab County Attorney David
Leavitt, who announced Monday that he raised $100,000 in
the third quarter for his bid to K.O. Cannon. In contrast
to the bright lights of TV, Leavitt quietly filed paperwork
in May to run against the six-term incumbent and doesn't
plan a public announcement until next year. ("I think
generally people aren't interested in an election in 2008
or seeing it until the election in 2007 is over," he said.)
Leavitt, the brother of former governor Michael Leavitt,
said even if the general population isn't interested yet,
groundwork has to be laid.
Cannon's office operates similarly and initially declined
to jump into any political melee Monday, instead saying the
congressman would wait until "sometime after the first of
the year" before launching a re-election campaign.
"As always, we expect and look forward to a vigorous and
aggressive campaign when the time comes to have that
campaign," said chief of staff Joe Hunter, noting that
Cannon was in the thick of the 2007 congressional session.
"It's certainly not now. We have a lot of work to do."
But an e-mail was sent out of Cannon's office defending his
fiscal conservancy, pointing out rankings from the likes of
the National Journal that puts him 17th out of 435 for most
fiscally conservative in the U.S. House, and noting he was
the only person in the Utah delegation to receive the "Hero
of the Taxpayer" award from Americans for Tax Reform.
Chaffetz, who also was Huntsman's campaign manager, was
unimpressed.
"I'd say hogwash, it's all about results. It's either he's
an influential member of Congress or he's not," he said.
"They may be handing out awards to each other, but results
are what matters."
Chaffetz wants results on illegal immigration, including
adding more officers to the federal Immigration and Customs
Enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
Any form of helping those already in the country illegally
he views as amnesty, including Cannon's proposed Blue Card
program that would give undocumented agricultural workers
who have been in the country for more than two years legal
immigration status. Those in the program would have to work
an ag job for half the year for more than three years
before leaving for non-ag jobs.
Chaffetz says anyone in the country illegally -- as many as
15 million people -- wouldn't be allowed to stay.
"They're going to need to go home," he said.
Chaffetz and Leavitt parroted talking points Monday, each
hitting on fiscal restraint, illegal immigration, Cannon as
a polarizing figure, and the concern that the federal
government is overreaching its bounds.
The dual challenge is more significant than those that
Cannon has faced in past elections, said Kelly Patterson,
director for BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and
Democracy.
"It's a very serious threat," he said. "Both these
candidates have advantages and resources that previous
candidates didn't have."
That includes name recognition, previous election
experience and money. While Leavitt announced $100,000 in
fundraising, Chaffetz said he has raised "tens of
thousands" of dollars, though he wouldn't get more
specific.
They'll both likely need quite a bit more to challenge
Cannon.
"A nice floor to think about is at least a quarter of a
million," Patterson said.
Chaffetz may be able to get by on a little less, as his
campaign staff is made up completely of volunteers, from
press contact Clint McKinlay to campaign manager Jennifer
Scott, who said paid staffers may not have the edge that
volunteers do.
"They don't have the same drive, the same feelings," she
said. "They're not as passionate."
Chaffetz was more blunt.
"I don't have a bunch of paid goons to go and show up and
say 'Hey, he's a good guy'," he said.
Paid goons or not, candidates only need to reach about
1,200 people -- the GOP's district delegates -- who will
decide May 10 at UVSC on a candidate.
If a Republican can garner 60 percent of the delegates, a
primary will be averted. In the past, it has also meant a
free ride to Washington, D.C., as opposition parties have
failed to mount a serious candidate for more than a decade.
But as national favor with Republicans ebbs over scandal
and the Iraq war, their political counterparts are looking
to take advantage, including in Utah's 3rd District.
Richard Davis, chairman of the Utah County Democratic
Party, said that challenges from the likes of Chaffetz and
Leavitt show fractures in the GOP.
"We see this as an opportunity that we plan to fully take
advantage of," he said, noting that the party doesn't have
a 3rd District candidate yet. In 2006, Democrat Christian
Burridge got creamed by more than 40,000 votes.
Cannon's 12-year dominance in the 3rd District also could
be affected by the loss of a GOP majority in Congress.
"The main reason why Chris Cannon has been successful over
the last several terms is because he's had a growing
seniority that meant something in a Republican-dominated
Congress," Leavitt said.
With that majority gone, it's time for some new
perspective, said Leavitt, including going back to the GOP
ideals that government can't take care of everyone or fill
every need.
"If we don't change that, America's in for some real
problems," he said.
***
This article was written by Joe Pyrah of the Daily Herald
and published on October 2, 2007.
(Tip of the day: Jason's last name is pronounced "Chay-fits")
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