The Hill News

Those Utah voters who want to replace long-time GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch now outnumber those who want to keep him in the Senate, according to a poll released Monday.

A Salt Lake City Tribune survey of likely voters conducted the week before Election Day 2010 showed that 48 percent said they would vote for someone else when Hatch is up for reelection in two years. Forty percent said they would vote to reelect him and 12 percent said they don't know how they would vote.

{mosads}The poll underscores the difficulty Hatch could face in seeking a seventh term in 2012. The former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman has been targeted for a potential primary by conservative Tea Party activists who believe that he is too ingrained in the Washington political establishment. 

The results also come after a number of Tea Party-backed candidates -- such as Nevada's Sharron Angle, Colorado's Ken Buck, and Delaware's Christine O'Donnell -- defeated establishment GOP candidates in Senate primaries this year. Many of the candidates lost their general election bids.

Hatch's fellow Utah senator, Robert Bennett (R), failed to secure renomination at the state GOP convention earlier this year after a Tea Party challenge. Political newcomer Mike Lee won the GOP nomination and the seat.

Many political observers believe that Hatch could face a challenge from outspoken freshman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) or Blue Dog Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah).

In a statemen! t to the Tribune, Hatch said he is not worried about hi! s chance s of winning another term. 

“Given the nationwide skepticism of political leaders today, these numbers look pretty good,” he said. “I received a very warm reception on election night from Republicans in Utah who appreciated the work I did to get conservatives elected across the country.”

Sixty percent of Republican respondents to the poll chose Hatch, but the survey did not match him up against a Republican challenger.

Hatch's numbers are also improved since before the state GOP convention in April, when 51 percent of likely voters said they wanted someone else in the Senate.

The poll was conducted my Mason-Dixon between Oct. 24-27 and has a margin of error of four percentage points.