New poll: Overwhelming majority of Utahns say Hatch should go

A new poll confirms that Utahns think it’s time for 83-year-old Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, CR’s No. 7 RINO and the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, to return to private life.

A survey conducted by The Salt Lake Tribune and the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics found that a strong majority, 78 percent of Utahns, said Hatch should not run for an eighth term in 2018. Fifty-seven percent of those polled said Hatch should “definitely not” run for re-election.

Additionally, 48 percent of Utahns surveyed said they had a negative view of Hatch’s job performance – which has earned him a 31 percent “F” Liberty Score^® – while 46 percent approved of Hatch.

It’s clear that Utahns are ready for Hatch to go, Tim Chambless, associate professor of political science at the University of Utah, told the Tribune.

"Even though he's in a powerful position — chairman of the [Senate] Finance Committee, [former] longtime chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senate president pro tem — the voters are indicating they're ready for a change," said Chambless.

"If I were the campaign manager for Senator Hatch, I'd be very concerned," he added.

As well he should be. Senator Hatch has broken several promises during his overlong career in Washington, D.C. By considering running in 2018, Hatch is currently violating a 2012 promise to the people of Utah that he would not seek re-election. “Look, this is definitely going to be my last term,” Hatch said. “I’ve committed to that. And it’s going to be the best doggone six years you’ve ever seen.”

In the last six years, which he promised would be his “best,” Hatch has voted to fund Obamacare, to give amnesty to illegal aliens, to continue to raise the debt ceiling without securing spending cuts, and for massive increases in government spending. A vigorous campaign conservative, Orrin Hatch is a prototypical governing liberal.

It is high time to find a conservative to challenge and defeat Senator Hatch. Utahns are ready for new leadership.