Claiming to be the true conservative in an increasingly crowded U.S. Senate race, Holladay Republican Cherilyn Eagar announced that she will likely run to replace three-term GOP incumbent Bob Bennett.
"Utah's conservative principles are no longer being represented in the U.S. Senate and no conservative has entered this race," Eagar said in a Monday morning e-mail.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and former Utah County GOP Chairman Tim Bridgewater have already declared their candidacies.
Eagar, 58, said she hopes to appeal to a growing discontent with current elected officials.
"Gulliver has been tied down by socialist gnomes for many years, but he's starting to wake up," Eagar said. "We have a great opportunity here to represent not only conservatives but those who, across the board, have been disenfranchised."
Eagar had harsh words for Bennett's record.
"With the bailout he helped to broker, he's shown he is willing to sell out the free market and put our children deep in debt," Eagar said.
Margaret Dayton, the only female Republican in Utah's state Senate, said that Eagar would add a strong conservative voice to future candidate debates.
"She's a very impressive woman in her looks, intelligence and presentation," Dayton said, adding that Eagar had assisted her in researching education issues, including the International Baccalaureate program that Dayton opposed during the 2008 legislative session.
Eagar has already garnered the support of state delegate Fred Cox from West Valley City.
"When someone calls themselves conservative, I always ask questions to see if I can relate to them," Cox said. "I was impressed by her answers."
