State code forbids using city resources for campaign purposes.

The flier, on city stationery, was circulated to invite residents to attend an emergency preparedness meeting but mentioned at the bottom that Urquhart, a Republican from St. George, would be there afterward to chat about his race.

Urquhart says he wasn't aware there was a flier and called it a “bummer.”

“That's something that we're obviously going to have to watch for in the future,” he said. “We had a great meeting; it's unfortunate it [the flier] happened like that.”

Urquhart, the Utah House majority whip, is the only declared GOP candidate so far to challenge Hatch, a Republican running for a sixth term. Democrat Pete Ashdown, owner of one of the state's largest Internet service providers, is seeking the Democratic nomination.

Hatch's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, said Thursday he hadn't seen the flier but when read the text, he said it might have broken state code.

“Everyone needs to know what the rules are,” Hansen said. “The campaigns certainly should know what the rules are.”

Fruit Heights Councilwoman Eileen Moss, who produced the flier, apologized Thursday after being told about the law. She says she was just trying to be accommodating because Urquhart had scheduled a room at City Hall for the hour after her meeting.

“I'm so sorry I screwed it up,” she said. “I didn't know it was a problem.”

The flier, she says, only went to about 50 people.