Last month, Utah Republicans chose two grassroots primary candidates, Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee, to run for Senate. Incumbent senator Bob Bennett didn’t even qualify for the ballot. In this very Republican state, the GOP primary on Tuesday, June 22 will almost certainly determine Utah’s next senator.

 Tim Bridgewater is an entrepreneur with several years of experience in Utah government and politics. Interested in business at an early age, Bridgewater worked for a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., where he later founded a consulting company in the 1990s with Neil Bush, brother of President George W. Bush. His connections in Washington introduced him to Republican politics. Bridgewater has served as deputy of education for former Utah governor Jon Hunstman, Jr., and has unsuccessfully run for Congress twice.

Earlier in the campaign, Bennett hammered Bridgewater for his past support for No Child Left Behind (Bennett had been one of ten senators to oppose it). “[No Child Left Behind] was sold under the premise of giving states more autonomy,” Bridgewater explains in a phone interview. “I’m a big believer that the states need more autonomy…. The current model is fundamentally broken.” As education deputy, however, Bridgewater says he worked to roll back the law’s effects in Utah. “Not only is it a philosophical opposition, but I actually got in and worked hard to fight against the mandates on behalf of my state,” he says.

The rift between Bennett and Bridgewater was apparently not too deep. Last week, Bennett gave Bridgewater a big boost with an endorsement. Though Bennett couldn’t make the ballot at the convention, he still has big sway among some GOP primary voters, even in this anti-insider year. Bridgewater is thankful for the endorsement.  “Sen. Bennett is one of many endorsements we have here locally,” says Bridgewater. “My opponent is seeking support from outsiders.”