Will He or Won’t He? Hatch Keeps Utah in Suspense

Hatch’s 2012 victory in the face of a tea party challenge could discourage potential challengers, said Hansen, the senator’s former campaign manager. “I think they look at it and say, ‘Look, if we try to challenge him, he’ll just beat us again,’” Hansen said. Utah strategists say the anti-establishment environment from 2010 has fizzled with respect to Hatch. A spokesman for conservative group FreedomWorks, which supported Hatch’s 2012 challenger, said it was too early to determine whether the group would be…