If interest translates directly into enthusiasm, Sen. Mike Lee might be in trouble in 2016.
The latest UtahPolicy.com poll asked Utah voters if they would be interested in a candidacy by a number of Utah politicians. The same number of people said they would be “somewhat” or “very interested” in a Mike Lee campaign for U.S. Senate in 2016 as those who said they would not be interested.
Former Rep. Jim Matheson and Former Gov. Mike Leavitt topped the interest chart with 53% of Utahns saying they would pay attention to a campaign by either man.
Freshman Rep. Mia Love scored higher than Lee on the interest scale (43%) as did Josh Romney (40%). Democrat Doug Owens, who lost to Love in 2014 would generate 30% interest.
The survey was not good news for former Utah GOP chairman Thomas Wright. Only 4% of Utahns said they would be interested if he ran, while more than ¾ of Utahns said they had never heard of him.
The poll suggests Lee might have some trouble brewing among Republican voters as. Only 54% of GOP voters said Lee running again in 2016 would be interesting. Those same GOP voters would be more interested in a campaign for U.S. Senate by Mike Leavitt (59%) and Mia Love (61%).
Democrats would line up behind either Matheson or Owens, but they would be more interested in a Matheson campaign by a 75-60% margin.
The poll was conducted December 22, 2014 – January 10, 2015 by Dan Jones and Associates. They surveyed 715 registered Utah voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.66%.
