No More Bennett...An Incumbent Falls

We have heard it for much of the 2010 so far: incumbents are in trouble this year. The environment is not ideal for incumbents as there are a wealth of problems and those in office are the first to garner the blame. Well, it will be hard to tell until the primary cycle closes at the end of August, but one incumbent has found out the hard way that times might be unfavorable. 3-term U.S. Senator Bob Bennett from Utah lost in the Republican convention voting this past Saturday. He found himself not being viewed conservative enough for his party in Utah.

He finished behind two Tea Party oriented candidates and highlights the challenges some incumbents might face this year. Bennett's record over the last couple years might have contributed to his demise.

Bennett survived the first round of voting featuring about 3,500 delegates, but then fell behind both Tim Bridgewater and Mike Lee. The former being a businessman and the latter being an attorney. Bridgewater finished with 37% to Lee's 36% and Bennett's 27. Bridgewater and Lee now move towards a primary on June 22nd after neither got at least 60% following the third round of voting. The endorsements of both Mitt Romney and the National Rifle Association were enough to help Bennett.

Bennett certainly not fit the mold of liberal or moderate politician, but one of his votes might have angered enough core voters in the Republican Party. The bailout vote might have helped seal Bennett's fate in this case. His "Yes" vote was viewed unpopular by several delegates who opposed the bailout and don't see it doing any good. Also he co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that mandated health insurance coverage. Bennett additionally aggressively pursued earmarks as well. Those votes and decisions might not go along with some of the conservative values of today, but his record overall strongly matches those values.

Utah is probably one of the most conservative states and with the Tea Party and the direction that the Republican Party is going; if you are not conservative enough, the party will not want you carrying the "R". The term RINO or Republican in Name Only comes to mind here. Bennett's two challengers focused on the one of the core principles of the party with reining in spending and appealed to the core of those who feel they are a Republican.

Both Bridgewater and Lee are not very politically experienced, but that might have only helped them as the non-incumbents or insider type of candidates. However, both were involved with former Governor Jon Huntsman Jr's office.

Bennett's loss does not follow the trend in Utah as both of Utah's Republican congressmen and Republican Governor Gary Herbert all easily won their party's nomination. Also, so far in the small amount of primaries we have had, mostly the incumbents are getting renominated with Bennett being one of the rare exceptions.

Another point of note was a promise Bennett made when he originally ran for office in 1992. He had promised to serve only two terms and now he is trying to a fourth. In 2004, Bennett was easily reelected with 69% of the vote.

Based on Saturday's results, it is not necessarily an attack on incumbents, but an incumbent who failed to connect with who mattered most: those delegates voting. Bennett does not fit the mold of some these wingnuts and rabble raisers who the party has been pandering too recently. He is more of a practical politician with conservative principles and tendencies. Also, if Bennett faced a primary he might have had a much better chance of either getting renominated or at least making it to the run-off primary in June. 3,500 delegates made the decision for a population that features 3 million. Granted not all of those 3 million are Republican voters, but there are certainly a lot more than 3,500. Additionally, Bennett has more money on hand than the other two, but money does not really matter in a convention setting.

Whether Bridgewater or Lee emerges they will have a major advantage over the Democratic nominee Sam Granato due to the overwhelmingly Republican population.

This has truly been a bit of rollercoaster ride since January. Scott Brown emerged as the newest U.S. Senator in Massachusetts and holds the late Ted Kennedy's seat. The Republican Party in Florida turned on Governor and current candidate for the U.S. Senator, Charlie Crist. He was able to avoid what happened to Bennett by leaving the party and has the possibly to surprise Marco Rubio and the Republican Party come November.

This convention primary will most likely come up as the primary season continues and multiple races and those running in them might gauge Saturday's results for their primaries. Next week, establishment candidate Trey Grayson faces upstart and a popular face amongst the Tea Party in Rand Paul, the son of Congressman Ron Paul. Paul has the lead in polls in that one and could continue what we saw in Utah. In Arizona, Senator John McCain is facing a tough opponent in former Congressman J.D. Hayworth. Hayworth is further right than McCain and thus forcing McCain to run more to the right of his party to get renominated. McCain has voted, but moderately than Bennett during his tenure, but Arizona is not as conservative as Utah.

If we start to see more incumbents and favorites struggle throughout the May primaries we may begin to start to gauge the political temperature moving along in 2010. So far, it might be much to do about nothing so far. Bennett met and unusual circumstance in a tough environment in a state where your conservative leeway in much smaller than other states.

Personally, I would not say I'm the biggest Bob Bennett fan, but he at least has shown a willingness to vote against the popular opinion of the Republican Party at times while still staying true most of the time to his party and those who call themselves conservatives. Most likely one of the two guys who beat Bennett will win because of the voting record of Utah, but neither brings what I would characterize a positive vibe to the U.S. Senate. They would only add to partisanship and possibly even shake up the Republican Party and make them too conservative.

We do not know too much this year at times, but one thing is for sure; a new face will enter the United States Senate in January 2011 and Bob Bennett will need to reevaluate his political future.