Washington • Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Orrin Hatch got into a "he said, he said" tiff Friday about whether the freshman congressman pledged not to run against Utah's six-term senator in 2012.

Hatch says Chaffetz made such a promise. Chaffetz, who says he is a "definite maybe" to run against his fellow Republican in two years, insists he didn't.

"Jason has been with me right in my office and said that he's not going to run against me, and made it very, very clear," Hatch said during an interview with KCPW.

"That's absolutely not true," Chaffetz told The Salt Lake Tribune. "That never happened. I have no idea what he's thinking about. I told him I wasn't going to run against Bob Bennett. Wrong senator."

Hatch spokeswoman Heather Barney shot back that staffers in the meeting recalled the senator's version.

"Look, Jason can break his word anytime he wants to," Barney told The Tribune. "Jason's commitment not to run against Senator Hatch made last year in a meeting in Hatch's office isn't up for interpretation. He said it."

Barney added, "Senator Hatch takes very seriously the principle of keeping his word. Of course, I suppose Jason can break it any time he wants to. Let's leave it at that."

Bennett, the state's other senator, lost his bid for a fourth term at the state GOP convention to businessman Tim Bridgewater and lawyer Mike Lee.

Lee locked up the GOP nomination in a June primary. He faces Democrat Sam Granato this fall.

Chaffetz says any decision about running for the Senate will come in "14 to 15 months" and that he is focusing now on his current re-election bid for the House against Democrat Karen Hyer.

Chaffetz knocked out longtime incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon in 2008.

tburr@sltrib.com