Shurtleff laying groundwork for run vs. Bennett
By Matt Canham
The Salt Lake Tribune
Washington ยป Republican Sen. Bob Bennett wants another six years in Washington, but it won't come easy.
Potential challengers from his own party have already started lining up for the 2010 race and none is bigger than Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who huddled with some D.C. fundraisers Wednesday, while in town for a meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
"I've always wanted to serve in the Senate," Shurtleff told The Salt Lake Tribune .
The attorney general isn't a candidate yet -- at least formally. He wants to run and believes he has the makings of a formidable challenger, but isn't ready to commit out of concern for his family.
"I've still got a 12-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old. We are not going to move," he said. That means, if elected, he would have to commute back and forth each week. "Is this the right time for my family?"
He has sought advice from Utah Reps. Jim Matheson and Jason Chaffetz, who commute to D.C. during the week and fly back to their young children on the weekends.
Shurtleff said earlier that he would make a final decision by the end of the week, but he said Wednesday he may push that back.
"It's got to be pretty soon if I'm going to be able to raise the money," he said.
Senate races are not cheap and Bennett already has a $270,000 lead on any challenger. Shurtleff met with
fundraisers to discuss plans to raise money, primarily online. He has $75,000 in his state campaign account, but election laws prohibit transferring that money to a federal race.
Shurtleff said he has also done some "significant polling" and the results make him only more eager to run.
"He's vulnerable. He knows it," he said.
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