Utah Republicans oust incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Bennett from office
Want proof that the 2010 midterms are, if anything, going to be anti-incumbent year (not an anti-Democratic year)? Look no further than Utah:
A bit of perspective, or grounding, is in order for anyone wishing to understand what just happened in Salt Lake City today.
As anyone who has been following U.S. politics for the last few months has probably noticed, Americans of all political stripes are in an anti-incumbent mood. Staunch progressives and staunch conservatives — who usually don't agree on anything — are united in their dissatisfaction with the political establishment (if for different reasons) and are taking out their anger partly by encouraging and supporting challenges to incumbents in intraparty contests.
No state is more friendly to the Republican Party than Utah — and in Utah, the delegates act as the gatekeepers for the Republican primary (a candidate needs to garner at least forty percent support at the party's state convention to get on the ballot) — so it's not that surprising that the conservative movement would make a target out of Bob Bennett. All the anti-Bennett forces needed to do to oust him was convince a few thousand devoted Republicans to vote for sombeody else.
And they did, despite pleas from Mitt Romney not to.
What incentive was there for the Republican base to kowtow to the GOP establishment? Utah is so red that no Democrat really stands a chance of winning a statewide race (never say never, of course, but the odds are low).
That made it easy for Republican party faithful to take the extroadinary step of ousting one of their own incumbents from office.
Progressives are currently trying to do the same thing in Arkansas by supporting the candidacy of Bill Halter, who is running against incumbent Blanche Lincoln for the Democratic nomination. However, Halter's path is steeper: He has to defeat Lincoln in a primary, which means convincing hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in Utah, rather than merely a few thousand delegates to a party convention.
The primary is a week from this Tuesday; Lincoln is in the fight of her political life, and we may see her suffer a fate similar to that of Bob Bennett.
If Lincoln does lose, she can get a cushy job on K Street. So could Bennett, if he would prefer not to quietly retire to the Mountain West.
Three-term Sen. Bob Bennett was driven from office Saturday by anti-incumbency rage and hostility toward Washington, becoming the first victim of the rising discontent.Cue a barrage of unwarranted, breathlessly-reported stories from the traditional media about the power of the tea party.
The three-term senator was bounced from office on the second round of balloting, failing to finish ahead of attorney Mike Lee and businessman Tim Bridgewater, who now move on to a June 22 primary.
Bridgewater got nearly 57 percent — short of the 60 percent needed to clinch the nomination — with Lee grabbing 43 percent.
With his loss, Bennett becomes the first Utah senator to fail to get his party's nomination since Democrats tossed out Sen. William King in 1940 over King's opposition to the New Deal.
A bit of perspective, or grounding, is in order for anyone wishing to understand what just happened in Salt Lake City today.
As anyone who has been following U.S. politics for the last few months has probably noticed, Americans of all political stripes are in an anti-incumbent mood. Staunch progressives and staunch conservatives — who usually don't agree on anything — are united in their dissatisfaction with the political establishment (if for different reasons) and are taking out their anger partly by encouraging and supporting challenges to incumbents in intraparty contests.
No state is more friendly to the Republican Party than Utah — and in Utah, the delegates act as the gatekeepers for the Republican primary (a candidate needs to garner at least forty percent support at the party's state convention to get on the ballot) — so it's not that surprising that the conservative movement would make a target out of Bob Bennett. All the anti-Bennett forces needed to do to oust him was convince a few thousand devoted Republicans to vote for sombeody else.
And they did, despite pleas from Mitt Romney not to.
What incentive was there for the Republican base to kowtow to the GOP establishment? Utah is so red that no Democrat really stands a chance of winning a statewide race (never say never, of course, but the odds are low).
That made it easy for Republican party faithful to take the extroadinary step of ousting one of their own incumbents from office.
Progressives are currently trying to do the same thing in Arkansas by supporting the candidacy of Bill Halter, who is running against incumbent Blanche Lincoln for the Democratic nomination. However, Halter's path is steeper: He has to defeat Lincoln in a primary, which means convincing hundreds of thousands of Democratic voters in Utah, rather than merely a few thousand delegates to a party convention.
The primary is a week from this Tuesday; Lincoln is in the fight of her political life, and we may see her suffer a fate similar to that of Bob Bennett.
If Lincoln does lose, she can get a cushy job on K Street. So could Bennett, if he would prefer not to quietly retire to the Mountain West.
# Posted by Andrew : 3:49 PM
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