Bennett Won't Appear On Senate Ballot

Sen. Bob Bennett Loses Re-Nomination At Utah GOP Convention
Eric Kleefeld | May 8, 2010, 5:34PM

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) has lost at his state Republican convention -- officially defeating him for re-nomination without a primary. He is the first incumbent Senator to lose re-election in 2010, a Republican driven from office by the anti-establishment conservative insurgency.

The results of the second ballot, courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune: Businessman Tim Bridgewater 37%, attorney Mike Lee 36%, and the incumbent Sen. Bennett 27%. There will now be a final round of voting pitting Bridgewater against Lee, to see if one of them can get 60% of the vote and thus be nominated outright. If neither receives 60% of the delegate vote, the race will go to a primary on June 22.

It should of course be noted that Utah is one of the most conservative, Republican-friendly states in the nation. The last time it voted Democratic for president was in the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide; the last time it elected a Democratic Senator was 1970; and it voted for John McCain in 2008 by a margin of 63%-34%. So with that said, the eventual GOP nominee will be heavily favored to keep the seat in Republican hands.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/sen-bob-bennett-loses-re-nomination-at-utah-gop-convention.php?ref=fpblg

It's official:


Of course Bennett may not really be out ...