Senator Robert (Bob) Bennett, Utah Republican was denied re-nomination Saturday after serving three terms in office, and the Utah Tea Party has been credited with pushing him out. Bennett voted for the bank bailout and that vote (among others) had Utah’s Tea Party and many Utah Republicans up in arms.
Bennett, 76, failed to make it to Utah’s GOP primary or win his party’s nomination. He is the first congressional incumbent to be tossed out in 2010.
After the vote, a teary eyed Bennett said, "The political atmosphere obviously has been toxic and it's very clear that some of the votes that I have cast have added to the toxic environment."
"Looking back on them, with one or two very minor exceptions, I wouldn't have cast any of them any differently even if I had known at the time they were going to cost me my career."
"Don't take a chance on a newcomer," Bennett pleaded before the second round of voting. "There's too much at stake."
Saturday, the second round of voting gave businessman Tim Bridgewater 37% of the vote and attorney Mike Lee 36%, while Bennett had 27%.
Now Lee and Bridgewater will go up against each other in another vote Saturday, and if one of them gets at least 60% of the vote he will be the new nominee. If neither gets 60% of the vote then there will be a primary on June 22. For more on their vote, click here.
The only option that Bennett has left would be an unprecedented write-in campaign, he told the Associated Press Saturday.
The video below shows Bennett's story.
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Source: The Associated Press
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