Cannon forced into a primary

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, was forced Saturday into a primary by a state Republican Party convention that showed an undercurrent of discontent, even anger.

Cannon, who seeks a sixth two-year term, will face real estate developer John Jacob in a June 27 closed GOP primary.

Cannon worried for a time that he might not even survive the convention. First-round voting by 3rd Congressional District delegates gave him only 42 percent of the vote, with Jacob getting 36 percent and Merrill Cook getting 22 percent.

A 60 percent vote in the next round for Jacob — who hoped to pick up Cook's delegate vote — would have removed Cannon from office and given the Republican nomination to Jacob.

"If it is the will of the delegates to have a primary . . . I love this system . . . I ask you to think very carefully" about kicking him out of the U.S. House, Cannon told delegates as they lined up for the second round of voting.

But Cannon survived, even if he ended up with fewer votes than Jacob — a clear indication that 3rd District GOP hard-liners were not happy with the incumbent. The final round of voting had Jacob at 52 percent to Cannon's 48 percent.

While surrounded by a few dozen supporters after the convention, Jacob said the delegate vote was a reflection of their disappointment in Cannon's performance as a congressman. Jacob said delegates also trusted him and believed in his ideas.

"The delegates sent a message to Washington that they will replace a Republican with another Republican if they don't get the job done," Jacob said.

Voters everywhere are frustrated with their national leaders, and delegates are generally more inclined to vote against the incumbent, Cannon said, so the primary did not surprise him. As a whole, however, he hoped that Republicans who vote in the primary will look at his experience and accomplishments — including work on a current immigration proposal being considered by Congress — and support a sixth term.

"Most voters recognize that you need to know something about the job," Cannon said. "Seniority and the skill to use it is important."

That frustration was apparent in other races as even U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, didn't receive a huge vote of support. Hatch eliminated three other GOP challengers. But the 30-year veteran only got 78 percent of the delegate vote against clearly weak candidates, while Utah state Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, won the 2nd Congressional District race with 84 percent of the vote.

So a relatively unknown state legislator got a greater percentage of the vote than did the long-serving Hatch.