SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Senator Mike Lee's top aide claims Orrin Hatch's decades of experience in Washington will cost him his seat in the U.S. Senate.
According to
an article posted in Politico.com, Senator Lee's chief of staff Spencer Stokes claims that Hatch may be at risk for referring to his vast Washington experience.
According to the article, Stokes asserted that Hatch might have a tough sell to voters by reminding them that he's been part of an establishment that has helped create a difficult political and economic climate.
"Why, if the federal budget is in trouble, do I want someone to go back who in their mind contributed to it?” asked Stokes in the article.
Politico isn't the only national media outlet to outline Hatch's vulnerability of late.
ABC News/Yahoo political correspondent Jonathan Karl also eluded to Hatch in a Monday report, citing Utah's senior senator as one of the main targets of that same TEA Party voters who successfully backed younger, more conservative candidates in the 2008 elections.
It is yet to be seen how much influence TEA Party-affiliated voters might have during March's open caucuses. Anti-establishment conservatives dominated the same caucuses and the Utah Republican Convention in 2008, which caused long time incumbent Senator Bob Bennett to lose his seat to Lee.
The Politico article also noted that Lee has not endorsed Hatch for the 2012 race.
