Orrin Hatch Faces Scott Howell In Utah Senate Election

In the Utah Senate race, the only major problem that long-serving Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch had to weather was the same Tea Party discontent that foundered the reelection hopes of fellow Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett in 2010, who lost to now-Sen. Mike Lee (R). After the 2010 elections, the same groups that got Lee into the Senate made noise about subjecting Hatch to the same fate, but Hatch managed to placate this opposition over the next two years. He went on to prevail over his closest competitor, Dan Liljenquist, in the Utah State Republican convention ballot, and then bested him by a wider margin in the ensuing primary election.

Hatch’s opponent is former Utah State Sen. Scott Howell, a conservative Democrat who will not win.

The Center For Responsive Politics has a list of the key contributors to each campaign.