Josh Romney is out of the race! According to CQpolitics he will forego the race, and the best possible alternative is going to happen, we get to go up against Merrill Cook. The violent tempered, controversial three term Representative who lost in the 2000 Republican primary, and whose unpopularity made it possible for Matheson to win the seat to begin with. He recently ran as an independant for Mayor of Salt Lake City, Matheson’s base and the main population center of this district, and got 6% of the vote.
On another hand, Cook has is on very shaky terms with Utah Republican establishment, and I don’t think that Republicans will support him. He’s run as an independant for for Governor twice, and once in the 2nd district. All three times he actually ran to the right of Republicans, so it’s not as if he’s a moderate. Rep. Cannon endorsed his primary opponent in 2000, and he was on bad terms with the entire Utah Conressional delegation at the same time. This is great news for Matheson, as not only is Cook a weak candidate, but his candidacy might drive off other, stronger candidates still considering running.
Here’s a link to the CQpolitics Article: http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmsp… .