According to a new poll, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) would trail in a hypothetical three-way primary race for the Republican Senate nomination in 2012.
Pitted against Rep. Jason Chaffetz, and Ambassador/former Utah governor John Hunstman, Huntsman comes out on top with 40 percent of the potential vote. Chaffetz comes in second with 30 percent. And Hatch pulls up the rear with a mere 26 percent.
The numbers are even worse for Hatch than they initially appear, since he is vulnerable not just to a conservative challenger in the form of Chaffetz, but to Huntsman — an Obama appointee seen as a centrist.
The poll shows smooth sailing for Hatch in a general election, but that won’t help him get through the state’s nominating convention process, which is dominated by conservatives.
More here.