This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A last-minute palace coup has materialized in the Utah Senate, with first-term Sen. Dan Liljenquist threatening to unseat Senate President Michael Waddoups when the Republican caucus picks its leaders next week, two days after the election.
Waddoups seemed to have no opposition leading up to the final days before the election, but something has happened inside the Senate to persuade Liljenquist, who has been in the Senate less than two years, to challenge the president.
Liljenquist, contacted Thursday, declined to comment. But Waddoups acknowledged he was aware of the challenge. When asked what was behind the threat to his authority, however, Waddoups said that "because of the sensitivity" of the situation, he couldn't discuss it.
Some Republican senators confirmed they have been contacted by Liljenquist seeking their support and some observers give the Bountiful Republican better than an even chance of defeating Waddoups, R-Taylorsville.
Even though Liljenquist is a newcomer to the Senate, he is seen as a rising star among his Republican colleagues. He led the way in revising the costly state retirement system and has been a point person in efforts to reform the health care system.
Waddoups has been the senate president for two years, defeating Sen. John Valentine for the job after the 2008 election.
—
The puppet masters • The ultra-conservative Utah Eagle Forum is pulling the strings of rank-and-file Republicans, even getting them to help take out a school board member in a nonpartisan race.
A memo went out to Republican legislative chairs in Davis County ordering them to distribute a meet-the-candidate invitation to all the precinct chairs to get that GOP machine working.
The guest of honor at the event was Nicole Davis, who is running against incumbent state school board member Kim Burningham. The call to battle was put out by Dalane England, vice president of the Utah Eagle Forum. She also hosted the event at her home last Saturday.
Burningham, who holds the District 5 seat, has run afoul of Eagle Forum values by opposing vouchers a few years ago and working on the Utahns for Ethical Government's ethics ballot initiative.
The Eagle Forum got involved in an internal Republican legislative race in Davis County a few years ago, successfully knocking out the GOP incumbent. She was replaced by a Republican whose main issue was supporting paramilitary militias. He lasted one term.
—
Defending Utah values? • Political campaigns seem to attract the dregs of society, and this year is no different. We have seen many sleazy attacks nationally and locally from all sides, but an anonymous contributor to Twitter trying to dis Democratic Senate candidate Sam Granato might take the cake.
Written under the title "GranatosMom," the tweeter attempts, it appears, to be humorous. He or she has posted such items as "Lie like that again and I'll beat you with a sack of salami. Love, Mom." The tweeter also seemed to have inside information about Granato changing the time of a debate with Lee, adding a little dig, "so you could go on a family vacation tomorrow. Not inviting me?"
Granato's mother is deceased. So that's not funny.