Political Reporter Picks Cannon for Sixth Term

None by KCPW

General Election a Formality

(KCPW News) With primaries out of the way, veteran political watchers are looking ahead to November 7th. Salt Lake Tribune political reporter Paul Rolly says the general election in the Third District is pretty much a formality, and he predicts that incumbent Chris Cannon will easily beat Democratic nominee Christian Burridge.

"Mr. Burridge, I understand, is a very capable guy - the Democrat - and a good guy," Rolly says, "but this is a very Republican district and this was the race to determine it. I don't think that Bush is going to feel like he needs to come out for that [the general election]; I think it's over now."

Riding a last minute boost from a presidential endorsement, Chris Cannon won his party's closed primary with 56 percent of the vote. Rolly, who says Republican challenger John Jacob was Cannon's biggest obstacle to a sixth term, says it's now the Republican's race to lose.

"The only thing that would cause a Democratic win in the Third District is if the Republicans did something really stupid like they did in 1990 and did an ad that offended the sensibilities of the people down there, when they elected [Democrat] Bill Orton - which was probably the biggest upset in the country that year. But I don't see the Republicans making that mistake again, and I think Chris Cannon is headed back to Washington."

For a longer conversation with Tribune columnist Paul Rolly about yesterday's primary and what to expect over the next four months of general election campaigning, click here.

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