Fred Lampropoulos to join crowded Senate race

Republican self-made millionaire Fred Lampropoulos — who spent $2.3 million on an unsuccessful GOP convention race for governor in 2004 — says he's decided to enter Utah's 2010 U.S. Senate race, although a formal announcement ceremony likely still is weeks away.

It will pit him against, among others, two fellow Republicans he has supported financially in the past: incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett and former congressional candidate Tim Bridgewater.

Lampropoulos, who annually is one of the state's largest political donors, may be able to cash in on the financial help he has spread widely. But conservatives he is trying to court may question why his company also donated to Democrats. They also may not like that he has been married four times.

"I'm just becoming more and more concerned about the direction of our country and our state," Lampropoulos, 60, told the Deseret News about why he decided to get into the race. "I just think we need some new leadership."

Lampropoulos cofounded Merit Medical, a medical supply company. His life is a rags-to-riches story (his parents were penniless when they came to Utah), where wealth that he built through that company allowed him to self-fund the bulk of his 2004 gubernatorial campaign and to become a large political donor.

It's also one reason he is jumping into the race. He said he became upset at proposals in Democrat health care reform bills to tax medical supplies to help pay for reform, which he says is unfair and discriminatory. "Those sorts of things are very bothersome to me," he said.

In 2008 and 2009, state and federal disclosure forms show that he (or his Merit Medical) spent at least $151,000 in political donations.

That included giving to 83 candidates for the Utah Legislature or other statewide offices (73 were Republicans and 10 were Democrats). He personally also donated to four GOP candidates to Congress. All that could help win him support as he seeks delegates to the convention.

Ironically, he gave $1,500 to Bennett for the 2010 election cycle (in donations made in 2007). He also gave $4,000 to Bridgewater in 2004 for his unsuccessful congressional campaign then. Now he his opposing both in the Senate race.

"I consider both to be friends. When they've come to me and asked for help, I've given them that help," he said. "I don't think that excludes anybody from saying, 'Hey, look, there is a difference between all of us.' "

Lampropoulos added, "We all have different points of view. And I think my long-term business background, dealing with the government, dealing with almost 2,000 employees, gives me a unique vantage point. … It's about what I think I can bring to the party and my vision."