Orrin Hatch, Utah’s Republican senior senator, has held his seat for just over 40 years. The President pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, who is currently fourth in the presidential line of succession, had promised in 2012 that he was running for his seventh and last term. He’s now changed his mind, CNN reports:
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving GOP senator, told CNN he is planning to run for re-election next year, abandoning his plans to quit the chamber after four decades of service.
You could see this one coming yesterday when President Trump, whom Hatch backed to the hilt during what turned into an unusually contentious general election in Utah, appointed his most formidable potential rival to a critical administration position.
Last night, the announcement came down that Trump was making Huntsman, a former Utah governor, ambassador to China and Republican presidential candidate, his new ambassador to Russia. Huntsman had been rumored as potentially plotting a primary or even an independent run against Hatch, and the early polls suggested he could well pull it off.
But now that Trump has cleared Huntsman from the field, Hatch is sure to face less daunting opposition, even if his re-election is still far from a sure thing. Evan McMullin, who ran against President Trump and scored 21 percent of the vote in Utah, is reportedly considering a bid.
