Washington » Republican Sen. Bob Bennett wants another six years in Washington, but it won't come easy.
Potential challengers from his own party have already started lining up for the 2010 race and none is bigger than Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who huddled with some D.C. fundraisers Wednesday, while in town for a meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
"I've always wanted to serve in the Senate," Shurtleff told The Salt Lake Tribune .
The attorney general isn't a candidate yet -- at least formally. He wants to run and believes he has the makings of a formidable challenger, but isn't ready to commit out of concern for his family.
"I've still got a 12-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old. We are not going to move," he said. That means, if elected, he would have to commute back and forth each week. "Is this the right time for my family?"
He has sought advice from Utah Reps. Jim Matheson and Jason Chaffetz, who commute to D.C. during the week and fly back to their young children on the weekends.
Shurtleff said earlier that he would make a final decision by the end of the week, but he said Wednesday he may push that back.
"It's got to be pretty soon if I'm going to be able to raise the money," he said.
Senate races are not cheap and Bennett already has a $270,000 lead on any challenger. Shurtleff met with fundraisers to discuss plans to raise money, primarily online. He has $75,000 in his state campaign account, but election laws prohibit transferring that money to a federal race.
Shurtleff said he has also done some "significant polling" and the results make him only more eager to run.
"He's vulnerable. He knows it," he said.
Bennett has expected a challenge from within his own party and he has started aggressively running much earlier than he did in his previous campaign.
"The senator is confident that he has the support of the people of Utah, but he is not taking that support for granted," said Bennett's son and campaign manager Jim Bennett.
Beyond Shurtleff, Mike Lee, who was Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'former general counsel, and former Juab County Attorney David Leavitt, have expressed interest in running for Bennett's seat.
Originally, Shurtleff's political plan was to serve out his term and then take a shot at running for governor. But that changed last fall, when Congress passed the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, creating the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Bennett was one of the key Senate Republicans negotiating that plan.
"People are pretty upset with that bailout. Now that they know he had a role in it, they are not happy at all," Shurtleff said.
He said he also is unhappy with the way Senate Republicans operated under former President George W. Bush.
"They were just spending us into oblivion," he said.
After Shurtleff floated his name as a potential candidate, Bennett gave him a call and asked him to serve as the co-chairman of his re-election campaign.
"I said 'Wow, I'm really honored Sen. Bennett. Thank you. But can I ask you are you calling because you heard I might run against you?'" Shurtleff said.
According to the attorney general, Bennett also said that Shurtleff couldn't beat him and that "I'm not Chris Cannon," a reference to the former 12-year congressman who Chaffetz beat in a Republican primary last year.
Jim Bennett said he wouldn't discuss "a private personal conversation," but did say the senator has learned the lessons from the Cannon race.
"Organize early, try to raise a lot of money," he said. "And it never hurts to be prepared."
