But could Hatch face a primary battle within his own party?
"Utah is not above something like that happening," said Jennifer Duffy, managing editor of The Cook Political Report, a leading congressional campaign newsletter.
"The sitting governor [Olene Walker] came in fourth at the party convention because she was considered too moderate and Utah's unique system for requiring primary runoffs could set someone like Hatch up a bit."
The Utah GOP uses instant runoff voting to nominate candidates at its convention. If no candidate receives 60 percent of the instant runoff tally, the top two candidates must face off in a primary election to determine the party's nominee.
In a briefing with reporters this week, Duffy said the Cook Report has listed Hatch's seat as solidly Republican for 2006, given his past victory margins and Utah's highest-in-the-nation 44-point win for President Bush over Democrat John Kerry in last month's presidential election.
Through September, Hatch had raised more than $1 million toward his 2006 re-election and had $686,000 available in his campaign account. Last month, former Utah Jazz NBA star Karl Malone and his wife, Kay, joined Hatch for a campaign fund-raising luncheon in Washington.
Another national political newsletter, CongressDaily, recently cited unnamed Utah Democratic Party officials concluding the minority party has "virtually no chance of defeating" Hatch in 2006 and will not mount an aggressive challenge. The Capitol Hill newsletter Roll Call reported that 2nd District Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson's "flawless campaign" and strong victory in a rematch with Republican John Swallow last month prompted speculation from observers such as Utah GOP pollster Dan Jones that Matheson may challenge Hatch in 2006.
Matheson's staff has dismissed such speculation, saying the only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation is focused on representing Utah's 2nd District.
Because of the poor showing by Matheson's brother Scott in his Democratic bid for governor, Duffy predicts Hatch is safe from any challenger with statewide name recognition in his re-election bid.
"If somebody emerges from his own party, that would absolutely be worth watching," she said. "Of course, you can't forget Utah is a two-party state: You have the Republicans and you have the Mathesons."
Although Hatch will be 72 in 2006 and has been slowed by back surgery, he has said for more than a year that he will stand for re-election. "I have no plans to leave Congress," he told The Salt Lake Tribune in October 2003.
If he wins, he will be the first six-term U.S. senator from Utah. "I don't consider it a lifetime job, but there's an awful lot that I am doing," Hatch said.
