Down the ballot: Cannon loses
Posted: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 9:04 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Congress, Republicans
After surviving tough primary challenges in recent elections, Republican Congressman Chris Cannon finally met his match in Jason Chaffetz, a former chief of staff to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Chaffetz won the primary with 60% of the vote.
Cannon is the third incumbent to lose a primary this year. The other two were both in Maryland: Republican Wayne Gilchrest lost to a more conservative primary challenger and Democrat Al Wynn lost a more liberal primary foe. Per CQ: "Chaffetz, running in a less vitriolic campaign environment, parlayed a bit of celebrity — he was the football placekicker for Utah’s Brigham Young University in the mid 1980s — and a theme of change that resonated in a year when many voters are expressing dissatisfaction with political ‘insiders.’ Chaffetz overcame the support Cannon drew from the Republican Party establishment, including Bush and Utah’s two Republican senators, Orrin G. Hatch and Robert F. Bennett.”
“Chaffetz argued that Congress needs new blood, repeatedly stating that he wasn’t the guy for voters who want the status quo. Calling himself results-oriented, he portrayed Cannon as an incumbent who has little to show for his 11 and a half years in Congress."
