It certainly looks like Sen. Orrin Hatch is gearing up for a run at an 8th term based on his most recent fundraising numbers.
Hatch pulled in about $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2017, and he has approximately $3.5 million on hand. Those eye-popping numbers should scare off plenty of potential opponents.
Hatch’s haul is a show of force, and comes as other ambitious Utah politicians eye his seat, which he has now held for seven terms. Capitol Hill Republicans believe both former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman are interested in running if Hatch retires, and Hatch has said if he leaves he’d like to bequeath the seat to Romney.
But over the past week Hatch, who is now chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been increasingly vocal about sticking around for another six years. He told the Deseret News that he doubts Romney will run and that he’s “just trying to make sure this state is taken care of no matter what happens.”
Just yesterday, Hatch said he may not run if his health, or the health of his wife, deteriorates before 2018.
Hatch, 83, would be just the seventh Senator to seek an 8th term in Washington.
