Rep. Jim Matheson dropped a bombshell on the Utah political landscape on Tuesday, announcing he will not run for re-election in 2014.
Matheson made the following post on social media today:
“While at the end of 2014 my tenure in the House of Representatives will come to an end, my duty to our state our country will undoubtedly continue.”
Here’s the full post:
Dave Hansen, Mia Love’s campaign manager, tells Utah Policy he was completely caught off guard by the announcement. “I had a suspicion this kind of thing might happen, but I thought he would make the announcement much earlier than this. Whatever his motivation, I’m sure we haven’t seen the end of Jim Matheson in Utah politics.”
A number of key staffers for Matheson have left his employ lately. Communications director Alyson Heyrend took a position in Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams’ office and chief of staff Mike Reberg resigned to become the head of Salt Lake County Animal Services.
Matheson was facing a stiff challenge in 2014 from Mia Love, who came close to knocking him off in 2012.
