Utah: More Romney Talk

A flawed Dan Jones & Associates poll (for UtahPolicy.com; 8/30-9/5; 608 UT registered voters) finds former presidential candidate Mitt Romney to be an easy winner if he were to run for the Senate, while seven-term incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch (R) fares poorly against a potential Democratic opponent.  But, even Dan Jones admits his poll is potentially skewed.  He says the party designation was mistakenly not included in the questionnaire, meaning that results could differ significantly if the respondents were informed about how the candidates align with the Democrats and Republicans. 
 
Even when factoring in the questionnaire flaw, Romney would crush Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson (D), 64-26%, but the latter would top Sen. Hatch 45-34%.  For his part, Sen. Hatch again says he’s planning on running for an eighth term, but still does not firmly commit.  Mr. Romney says he is not interested in running for the Senate.  Many Utah political observers do not expect a formal Hatch announcement until the beginning of next year.

--Jim Ellis