The five-term incumbent couldn't muster the 60 percent of delegate votes needed to clinch the nomination at the Republican State Convention today. So he will face John Jacob in a June 27 primary.

Former Congressman Merrill Cook was defeated in the first ballot.

Jacob, a multi-millionaire developer from Eagle Mountain, actually had a majority of delegate votes, but not enough to clinch the nomination.

The 3rd Congressional District race has been dominated by the issue of illegal immigration. The congressman has been a supporter of a guest worker program and his critics have tried to tag him with a "pro-amnesty" label.

In the 2nd Congressional District, state Rep. LaVar Christensen easily defeated his opponents to claim the GOP nomination and the right to take on U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, the lone Utah Democrat in Congress.

And Sen. Orrin Hatch easily captured more than three-quarters of delegate votes against little-known challengers to reclaim the Republican mantle in his quest for a sixth term in the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Rob Bishop was not challenged within the Republican Party.

Some 3,500 delegates were eligible to vote in the state Republican Convention in Sandy.

In the most closely watched state legislative race, longtime Sen.

Howard Stephenson trounced challenging Rep. Dave Hogue. The race for Senate District 11, straddling the Salt Lake-Utah county line, was seen as a referendum of sorts on public versus private education.

Stephenson is a strong supporter of tax vouchers for private school students, while Hogue has been a reliable vote for keeping tax money reserved solely for public schools. In fact, he suggested giving $70 million more to education instead of using it for a tax cut.

The pro-education message didn't go over too well among conservative delegates, who gave Stephenson 77 percent of the vote.

To the north, State Sen. Dave Thomas of South Weber had more trouble with his challenger: Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner. Neither candidate got 60 percent of the delegate vote, so the battle for the Republican nomination in Senate District 18 will go to a June 27 primary run-off.

Also headed to a primary, in eastern Utah, are Rep. Dave Ure and Kevin Van Tassell, of Vernal. Ure, a veteran House member from Kamas, finished second in balloting today in his quest to move to the Senate. Van Tassell fell just four percentage points short of locking up the nomination today.

Another primary race is in store for a Bountiful-based House seat being vacated by Rep. Ann Hardy. Ronald Mortensen, a senior policy analyst for the conservative Sutherland Institute, will face Paul Neuenschwander. Among the trio knocked out of the race was another Sutherland Institute adherent, board member Robert Alsop.

In south-central Utah, former state Judge Kay L. McIff and Gordon Topham are headed to a June run-off election. The two Republicans are vying for southern Utah's House District 70, which is being vacated this year by retiring Rep. Brad Johnson.

But there will be no prolonged GOP fight in west Salt Lake County's District 12, where Christy Achziger knocked off two other challengers, including former Democratic Rep. Dan Tuttle for the nomination. Achziger now goes up against Democratic Sen. Brent Goodfellow of West Valley in November's final election.

The intra-party battle also is over in Senate District 24. Current Sen. Darin Peterson, of Nephi, convincingly fended off Republican opponents Jay Collier and Ryan Smith.

And in House District 68, incumbent Rep. Richard Wheeler, of Ephraim, beat challenger Glen Lee Morris.