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Posted: 9:09 PM- Sen. Chris Buttars is getting some help from Senate leaders in his effort to keep his seat, but his Republican challengers say it's wrong for senators to get involved in the intraparty fight.

Buttars' campaign is passing out to delegates an endorsement letter signed by Senate President John Valentine and other members of Senate leadership: Sens. Curtis Bramble, Dan Eastman and Sheldon Killpack.

"We support his bid for re-election and hope you will, too," says the letter. "Senator Buttars is an unwavering supporter of Republican principles. He has consistently and passionately espoused the principles that we hold dear."

But Buttars' opponents, who face off against the incumbent senator at the Salt Lake County Republican Convention on Saturday, think the letter goes too far.

"The problem is that it reinforces the good ol' boy network that exists within the Senate," said Gary Armstrong, one of the Republicans challenging Buttars. "With an intraparty race like this, I think that the leadership of the Senate needs to let the home-district voters decide who they want to represent them."

Trevor Darby, who is also seeking the GOP nomination, said it will be up to the delegates to decide if it was proper for the Senate leaders to weigh in.

"It is disappointing because my feeling is that within the party we should let the strongest candidate come out based on their strength of their platform and the whole party should get behind whoever it is," Darby said.

Valentine said that traditionally Senate leaders have stayed neutral on in-party challenges, but they felt that Buttars' situation was unique.

In February, Buttars created a firestorm when he said of a bill on school funding that, "This baby is black, I'll tell you. It's a dark, ugly thing." He apologized and said he did not mean it as a racist statement, but the NAACP called for his resignation.

"We felt it was important with Senator Buttars that the delegates make a decision based on the merits and not make it on what we felt were rumors and innuendo," Valentine said. "He used a bad metaphor, but it was not intended to be a racial slur and we felt like the delegates ought to make the decision on the merits of the race and not on the sideshow."

The letter is written on Valentine's unofficial letterhead incorporating a likeness of the state Capitol and all four signers are identified by their Senate leadership positions, but at the bottom of the letter it states that "This letter was not produced or mailed at taxpayer expense."

Other elected officials have endorsed candidates in intraparty challenges this year. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., for example, endorsed Bramble, and several Democratic office-holders have endorsed candidates in contested nomination fights. Valentine also endorsed Sen. Allen Christensen in his GOP fight in Weber County.

Also criticized as part of a pattern of the GOP establishment trying to protect incumbents was a flier sent and paid for by the state Republican Party on behalf of five House candidates, four of whom faced intraparty challenges.