3rd District campaigns quiet

Heard much about the 3rd Congressional District GOP primary election, now just 2 1/2 weeks away?

If you have, you must have your ear very close to the political grapevine.

Quiet has been the theme between Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and Jason Chaffetz, who face each other in the June 24 runoff.

"I have done a little TV and radio (advertisements)," says Chaffetz, a former chief of staff to GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. who barely failed to knock Cannon out of office in last month's state Republican Party convention.

The 3rd District "is the only primary anyone cares about, so it is up to me to get out the vote, and that's want I'm doing all day, every day," adds Chaffetz. (A post-convention poll for the Deseret News and KSL-TV showed the men neck and neck among 3rd District voters.)

There are not even any public debates planned between the two men.

Both will appear on KBYU and KUED for debates, and also one radio talk show. But that's it for joint appearances, said Ryan Frandsen, Cannon's campaign manager.

Cannon just started running his first TV spot, a short advertisement where Cannon lauds his actions on several important issues before Congress.

Cannon is just now turning his attention to the primary — having been in Congress the past several weeks. He attended an energy seminar Tuesday in Richfield. But his campaign Web site (chriscannon.com) doesn't list any public activities between now and June 24 — although certainly some will be added in the coming days.

Both men have interactive Web sites, although Cannon's appears to be more high-tech. You can watch several short videos where Cannon talks about issues, and what he says are his opponents' attempts to mislead voters.

On Chaffetz's Web site (jasonforcongress.com) one can view Chaffetz TV and radio spots and watch a replay of his state GOP convention speech — a speech that probably helped him almost remove Cannon from office.

Besides his regular Web site, Cannon has also started another site — thetruthaboutchriscannon.com — aimed at blunting "lies, name calling ... and plain falsehoods" that Cannon says have been spread by his opponents, both this year and in the past.

So far, at least, the candidates' online sites and town meetings have taken the place of the more traditional big-ticket media campaigns.