By Robert Gehrke

| The Salt Lake Tribune

After months of speculation, Sen. Orrin Hatch landed his first Republican challenger today, as former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist formally announced his candidacy.

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"Washington, D.C., is broken and some of our own Republican lawmakers share in the blame," Liljenquist said in a prepared statement. "It's time for new conservative ideas from those who have the energy to see them through."

"I think, as Dan has looked at what has happened nationally with out-of-control spending and no serious discussion about how to pull back that spending, he just feels compelled to get involved," said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity before the scheduled announcement. "[He] can't sit idly by and ignore the problems."

Liljenquist spent the summer traveling the state, speaking at town hall meetings, and he resigned his seat in the Utah Legislature three weeks ago, a clear indication that he plans to run.

The campaign's website (danforutah.com) was to have launched late Tuesday night.

Hatch has been the target of tea party-affiliated groups that rose up in 2010 to help defeat three-term Sen. Bob Bennett. Hatch has been campaigning vigorously for months to try to shore up his support.

A poll in July by Public Policy Polling showed Hatch holding his own - 45 percent to 44 percent - among Republicans when he was pitted against a generic Republican with more conservative views. But he struggled among conservative Republicans, 51 percent of whom believed he was too liberal.

"Obviously, anybody has a right to get into the race, but the senator is in a very strong position and this race is going to be about who can do the best for the state of Utah," said Hatch's campaign manager, Dave Hansen. "I don't think the [Republican] delegates or the voters are going to want to make a change from the leadership he has provided."

The Hatch campaign has noted that, if Republicans re-take the Senate in November, Hatch could be in line to be chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax policy and Medicare.