A pro-Orrin Hatch mailer is causing waves among Utah Republicans because it looks like the state party is throwing their support behind the seven-term senator ahead of the 2018 election.
The mailer, which has a return address of Utah GOP headquarters, features quotes from prominent Utahns and a checklist of the things Hatch is doing for Utah. It sure as heck looks like a campaign mailer that came directly from the state party.
As you might imagine, that has ruffled some feathers, especially since Hatch last week told CNN he was going to run for another term in 2018 (his office walked that back, but it’s out there). It sure as heck looks like the state party has already picked a winner before the election even begins.
But, that’s far from the truth. State Party Chair James Evans says the mailer was designed by Hatch’s people and mailed out by the state party at Hatch’s request.
“It’s a service we offer all candidates or office holders. It’s been in place for decades,” says Evans.
It works like this according to Evans. A candidate makes a donation to the state party that is about the same as it would cost to send out the mailer. The advantage for Hatch, or any other candidate, is they get to use the Utah GOP’s non-profit mailing status, which can save a significant amount of money.
It happens all the time.
For instance, the Utah GOP recently sent out surveys for 20 Utah legislators using the same system.
Evans does acknowledge that the mailer could give the wrong impression if you happen to ignore every other time this system has been used in the past.
“We will probably add additional language for future mailers so that there’s no confusion,” he said.
