"In a race where the two candidates are from the same party, their party doesn't differentiate them, even their ideology doesn't differentiate them. So they have to zero in on specific issue differences. The biggest is immigration."

The equation, as the candidates head into the final week of the race, is whether that issue is large enough to overcome the core support Cannon enjoys.

Jacob edged Cannon at the state Republican convention, winning 52 percent of the vote from state party delegates. Patterson said the going is now tougher for Jacob because an incumbent's base and resources grow at each stage, convention to primary to general election.

"This isn't a few hundred activists at a convention," Patterson said. "Now you're talking about potentially 20 percent of the electorate. Do you go with somebody who has a record of supporting the president, or do you go with someone who has criticized the president on this one issue?"

During the KCPW debate, Cannon said changing congressmen would hurt Utah, listing his influence on the judiciary committee that oversees patents critical to Utah companies, the money he has produced for Utah schools through regular consolidation of school trust lands, his endorsement by the NRA and even immigration, suggesting Jacob would arrive in Washington too late to affect the debate.

"These are all things that would change in a bad way," Cannon said. "We have the biggest booming economy of all time, and if you like that, vote to keep me."

Jacob said Congress needs fresh ideas, saying Cannon was in Washington while the national debt ballooned from $5.5 trillion to $9 trillion.

On immigration, he said, "In America, we abide by the law. When we don't abide by the law, we have anarchy." He added, "We're already in Iraq protecting other people, and we haven't secured our own borders."

He said Cannon supports the 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants and isn't strong enough about sending them home before they can be considered for legal status.

"I'm of the belief everybody has to go back," Jacob said. "These people have brought diseases, drugs, all kinds of things to our country."

Jacob admitted that he has not ironed out details of his proposed immigration FastPass, styled after the pass used at Disneyland. Park visitors can go to a ride, obtain a FastPass, and then return during a specific time and go to the front of the line.

Cannon pressed him on which illegal aliens would qualify for a FastPass. Jacob said it would not be for everyone, only those who had been in America for 10 to 20 years.

"If they've actually been here that long, show us the five Social Security numbers you've used, get an affidavit from your wife and children, you get a FastPass."

"It sounds like what some supporting you call an amnesty," said Cannon, who pushed for additional details.

"I don't know," Jacob said. "I still have to work that out."

"Everybody in Utah wants to know where you stand on this issue," Cannon said.

Patterson said the next week will be an interesting study in intraparty campaigning.

"By criticizing the president, Mr. Jacob effectively opens the door for Rep. Cannon to say, agree with him or disagree with him, 'I stand by the president.' That's a fairly effective appeal in (a primary), but the core critics on this issue aren't going to be deterred by that."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com