Bennett draws fourth challenger
By DAVID CATANESE
A senior Utah Republican tells POLITICO that former GOP Rep. Merrill Cook is expected to announce a primary challenge to Sen. Robert Bennett Thursday.
Cook will become the fourth candidate to take on Bennett, who has riled conservatives with his votes for Wall Street and automaker bailouts.
Attorney Mike Lee, entrepreneur Tim Bridgewater, businesswoman Cherilyn Eagar and small businessman James Russell Williams III are also mounting campaigns.
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey endorsed attorney Mike Lee at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington earlier this month. The Club for Growth and FreedomWorks are also involved working to oust the three-term Bennett.
Cook, who served in congress for two terms, is viewed as a perennial candidate in Utah. Most recently in 2008, he lost at the GOP convention in a bid for his old 2nd district House seat.
He has run 10 times for a variety of offices, as a Republican an independent and as a nominee of the Utah Independent Party, according to Utah's Deseret News publication.
"With four challengers in the race, an anti-incumbency mood generally, a convention system that tends to skew more conservative and activist than the general public, Cook's penchant for running for office and the unlikelihood that any candidate will get 60 percent of the vote needed to avoid a primary, my guess is this is his best possible shot at a Senate seat," said a senior Utah Republican, outlining Cook's prospects.
Jonathan Martin contributed to this report.
Robert Bennett
Utah Senate