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All of the candidates have spent the past few weeks working delegates at small events around the state, often engaging them in one-on-one conversations. That frenetic pace tapered off this week, and Friday the candidates mostly focused on preparing for Saturday's convention. They attended a pre-convention dinner hosted by the state party but otherwise had no events. This year's race essentially began in 2010, when Bennett was ousted by delegates fueled by tea party politics. Hatch immediately recognized the challenge he would likely face from those groups and launched one of the most well-organized and expensive campaigns in the state's history. Since the beginning of 2011, he has spent more than $5 million
-- and he still has $3 million to spend on a potential primary. Bennett's loss frustrated many Republicans, who believed that a vocal minority hijacked the nomination process. This year, turnout at the neighborhood caucus meetings more than doubled and many attendees said they wanted to make sure Hatch wasn't treated in the same way.
"I think that Hatch probably would have lost in 2010, as well," said longtime delegate Wendy Jones of West Valley City. "There was an anti-incumbent sentiment among the delegates that wasn't representative of the whole state."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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