Hatch Supporters Make Strong Showing in Utah Caucuses PLEASANT GROVE, Utah - The Tea Party-inspired drive to oust Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a six-term Republican, got a bit more complicated on Thursday night. Supporters of Mr. Hatch turned up in strong numbers at some packed Republican caucus meetings around the state, where delegates were elected to next month's state party convention. And here in Utah County, a deeply conservative area in the backyard of Brigham Young University, and hotbed of anti-Hatch sentiment, some prominent opponents of the senator failed to win delegate seats. "It's going to be a very good night for Hatch," said Dave Hansen, Mr. Hatch's campaign manager. Some of the senator's opponents emphasized that a lot of delegates professed indecision on the question of Mr. Hatch, and that weeks remained to twist arms and frame arguments before the convention on April 21. But some agreed that there was probably more Hatch support in the turnout than they had expected. "It's going to be hard to dump him," said Brian Halladay, an anti-Hatch delegate who ran for precinct chair, and lost, in a precinct here in this community about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. Mr. Hatch's opponents have said they want a more conservative senator - or at least a new face - and have vowed a repeat of 2010, when former Senator Robert F. Bennett was unceremoniously dumped by delegates at the state convention - failing to qualify even to run in a primary election for his seat. Mr. Hatch, trying to avoid that fate, has been fighting back hard for months, trying to be build his own delegate army. In profoundly red Utah, the Republican nomination is the defacto election, since a Democrat has almost no chance of winning here, so the delegate votes heading toward the convention carry huge weight. High turnout was itself a measure of the battle and the interest it has garnered. At one precinct here in Utah County, 220 Republicans showed up to vote, filling half the cafeteria at Pleasant Grove Junior High School, compared with 89 the last time.