Chaffetz hopes to win the Republican nomination at the convention by earning 60 percent of the votes from among the 1,200 delegates.

Cannon's chief of staff, Joe Hunter, said the congressman expected another challenge from inside the party, which has become a regular occurrence despite the high ratings Cannon has earned from several conservative groups.

"I think it's way too early to characterize it as the stiffest (challenge) or the easiest, or whatever," Hunter said. "The 3rd District generally produces energetic, intraparty challenges, and there's no reason to think this will be any different. We've had challenges from millionaires and former office-holders, and Congressman Cannon is still in office."

Republican convention delegates are a favorite target of Cannon's challengers from the right because delegates tend to be more conservative than those who vote in the Republican primary.

John Jacob actually edged Cannon in the delegate vote at the 2006 convention, 52 percent to 48 percent but was pushed into a primary with the incumbent because Jacob didn't reach 60 percent. In the primary, Cannon won easily among the more moderate Republican electorate, 56 percent to 44 percent.

Chaffetz said Monday that since his announcement in January that he was exploring the possibility of a run, he has called 1,000 of the 1,200 delegates.

"I'm working with the delegates one at a time," he said. "It's all about relationships and dealing with voters one at a time."

While Chaffetz said Cannon is "fundamentally and principally wrong on immigration, top to bottom," and promised a policy speech with a seven-point plan on the issue before the convention, he said past campaigns against Cannon have struggled to avoid single-topic challenges and promised to better negotiate that mire.

Hunter said Cannon talks with delegates almost daily, calling attacks on Cannon from the right of the party on immigration "an old story."

Chaffetz also attacked Cannon for being the only member of the Utah delegation to support a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and a June 15 vote for a $34 billion Homeland Security appropriation that was opposed by 148 House Republicans who sided with President Bush. Bush had asked for $2 billion less.

Chaffetz also said he is a better communicator than Cannon.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com