Hopefully, as other pro-illegal pols see their cohorts becoming similarly unemployed, they will sit up and take notice. However, even if they do I'm a firm believer that those who have consistently shown that they are not working in our best interests should be shown the door regardless of any appearances that they have changed their ways.
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"Unauthorized workers compete with people who just struggle with the bare necessities of life, "There's no one in the courtroom who represents the 100,000 Arizonans living on the edge of poverty."  Judge Neal Wake

Republican voters in Utah ousted Rep. Chris Cannon in Tuesday’s GOP primary, expressing their dissatisfaction with the six-term congressman over his left-of-center positions on immigration by nominating a challenger who made crackdowns on illegal immigration a central part of his platform.

Cannon was trounced by Jason Chaffetz, the former chief of staff to Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-Utah.) With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Cannon trails Chaffetz by 20 points – 60 to 40 percent. The AP has called the race for Chaffetz.

With his loss, Cannon becomes the third member of Congress to lose in their own party’s primary. Two members of Congress from Maryland, Democrat Al Wynn and Republican Wayne Gilchrest also were defeated in primaries held in February.

Chaffetz is near-guaranteed to become the next congressman for Utah’s Third District, which is one of the most Republican districts in the country. The seat, based in suburban Salt Lake City and Provo, gave President Bush 77 percent of the vote in 2004.

Immigration was the driving factor behind Cannon’s unpopularity with the district’s Republican base. Despite sporting a near-perfect score from the American Conservative Union, Cannon alienated border security hawks over the past several years with his belief that illegal immigrants should be eligible for certain government benefits.

In 2003, Cannon sponsored a bill that would give children of illegal immigrants in-state college tuition. And he has also supported legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to receive guest worker status.

By contrast, Chaffetz advocated gradually deporting illegal immigrants out of the United States, and also said he supports removing automatic citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants in the country.

Immigration has become a contentious issue in Utah, where a growing number of Hispanic immigrants have changed the hue of the once-homogenous state. The Mormon Church, as part of its missionary outreach, has welcomed and aided the influx of immigrants.

But other Utahns expressed concerns about the strains immigrants have placed on social services, particularly crowded classrooms and swamped health care providers.

The campaign between Chaffetz and Cannon was fairly low-key, with both candidates primarily relying on direct mail and contact with party activists to get their messages out.

Chaffetz may become a congressman with one unique distinction: He never hired any campaign staff during the primary and with the district’s heavy Republican leanings, is unlikely to add to his campaign payroll for the general election. As of mid-June, he spent just under $100,000 on the campaign.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0608/Cannon_ousted_in_Republican_primary.html
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U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon, one of the nation's most conservative congressmen, lost his bid for a seventh term Tuesday in a Republican primary that focused on whether he was conservative enough for Utah's 3rd District.

Cannon was defeated by first-time candidate Jason Chaffetz, a former Brigham Young University football player who served as chief of staff for popular Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman.

The lobbying group American Conservative Union said Cannon was nearly perfect on its issues in 2007, scoring 96 percent. But Chaffetz repeatedly pounded the incumbent, especially on immigration, and pledged to be even more conservative.

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Chaffetz led 60 percent to 40 percent. Voter turnout was described as low.

"I think we have a mandate to help return the Republican Party to its core conservative principles," he told The Associated Press after Cannon conceded defeat. "People were fed up and we empowered them to become involved and make the changes we need."

Cannon, 57, had no immediate public comment on the election result.

Meanwhile, in Utah's only statewide race, Richard Ellis defeated Mark Walker for the Republican nomination for treasurer. The race was mired by accusations of bribery. Walker repeatedly denied offering Ellis a raise to stay as deputy treasurer and drop out, but the allegation may have stuck with voters.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Ellis had nearly 60 percent of the vote.

In the congressional race, Chaffetz, 41, claimed Cannon was soft on immigration, saying his votes amounted to offering amnesty to people in the country illegally.

In 2003, Cannon sponsored a bill that would have allowed states to charge in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.

Rather than deporting all illegal immigrants, Cannon has called for a guest-worker program that doesn't punish businesses and allows immigrants to travel freely across the border.

Chaffetz said he wants the U.S. to deport all illegal immigrants and stop granting automatic citizenship to children born here if their parents aren't legal residents.

He also attracted support in the largely suburban district by saying he wants to abolish the U.S. Education Department and cut a slew of federal programs unless they can prove they're working.

Chaffetz will face Democratic candidate Spencer Bennion, a former television reporter, in the general election. In one of the nation's most conservative districts, the ex-BYU kicker is expected to easily cruise to victory.

Chaffetz said his campaign will be no different this fall and his tough words will remain the same if voters send him to Washington.

"I'm going to tell it like it is. We're in a crisis right now. The budget is out of control, immigration wasn't taken care of, and gas is at $4 a gallon," Chaffetz said. "We need new solutions."

Cannon had hoped his name recognition, a large amount of campaign cash and a pool of more moderate voters would propel him again to the Republican nomination. An endorsement from President Bush, who still remains popular here, was also expected to help, as it did in 2006.

But this year, the political climate was different.

In 2006, Cannon "had a president that was much more popular that came to his aid," said Quin Monson, a BYU political science professor. "You had a Republican Party riding high, controlling Congress and so on, and you had an economy doing better.

"He had all these factors working against him this time," Monson said.

In the treasurer's race, Ellis filed a complaint with the state elections office. Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, also a Republican, waited until polls closed Tuesday to announce that an investigation into bribery allegations is warranted.

The Utah Attorney General's Office will handle any probe. Herbert said he waited until after the primary election because he didn't want to influence the outcome of the GOP race.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/AP/Search/Politics/Default.aspx?id=152834
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Shamnesty Republican Chris Cannon defeated in Utah primary
By Michelle Malkin • June 25, 2008 02:11 AM

cannonlose.jpg

Every time an immigration enforcement proponent loses a seat in Congress, the open-borders Wall Street Journal and their ilk use it to argue that Republicans need to support shamnesty to maintain political viability. The WSJ falsely framed the 2006 midterm election losses of GOP Reps. John Hostettler, Randy Graf, and J.D. Hayworth as electoral rejection of strict enforcement of immigration laws–conveniently ignoring the fact their opponents campaigned to their right on the issue.

Well, what will the WSJ and company say about what happened today to one of their favorite shamnesty/DREAM Act shills, GOP Rep. Chris Cannon? The six-term incumbent went down in flames in the Utah primary, defeated by Republican Jason Chaffetz–an underfunded political newcomer who made opposition to illegal immigration, rejection of amnesty, and support for tough deportation policies a top campaign issue. Cannon outspent Chaffetz 7-to-1 and had the entire GOP establishment from the White House on down backing him.

Cannon’s open-borders supporters can spin it all they want. They’ll shamelessly accuse the same voters who stuck with Cannon for six terms of incurable bigotry. But the simple fact is that voters finally got fed up with Cannon’s constant water-carrying for La Raza and MALDEF (watch him proudly boast, “We love immigrants in Utah. And we don’t oftentimes make the distinction between legal and illegal. In fact I think Utah was the first state in the country to legislate the ability to get a drivers license based on the matricula consular and of that I am proud.”) They got sick of the lies and arrogance (for my personal experience with the bloviatingly crude, rude, and clueless Cannon, see here.) They got sick of Washington business as usual.

Now, this is real hope and change from a real maverick–a Republican running unashamedly and unequivocally as a conservative:

He favors deporting illegal immigrants, abolishing the Education Department and cutting a slew of federal programs unless they can prove they’re working.

Via the Salt Lake Tribune:

Jason Chaffetz’s promise to change Washington, starting with Rep. Chris Cannon, resonated with Republican voters, who appear to have ousted the six-term incumbent in a Republican primary tonight.

“You rock, and you rocked the Republican Party,” Chaffetz told supporters gathered in Springville, shortly after polls closed. “We’ve done this all with volunteers, with no free meals and no polling. We’ve done it the right way. You can never convince me that one person can’t make a difference.”

… Chaffetz fell 10 votes shy of eliminating Cannon at the Utah Republican Convention, forcing him to a primary. Cannon out-raised Chaffetz by nearly 7-to-1, had the endorsements of President Bush and Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennet, and spent tens of thousands of dollars on polling.

Message to pro-immigration enforcement, anti-amnesty, pro-secure borders forces: Yes, we can!

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Just in from the NRCC:

T-03 (R, Cannon)

In a Republican stronghold, Jason Chaffetz defeated incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon in Utah’s 3rd District. After a strong showing at the Republican Convention in May, Chaffetz ran a grassroots campaign that centered on changing the way Washington does business—a theme that will be equally pertinent during the general election in the fall. Jason Chaffetz proved he is a tough campaigner with an effective message. There is no doubt that he will be the next representative for Utah’s 3rd District.

Jason Chaffetz attended Brigham Young University, where he was the place-kicker for the BYU football team and earned his degree in Communications. Chaffetz later served as campaign manager and Chief of Staff for Governor Jon Huntsman.

History: The 3rd District was carried by President Bush in 2004 with 77% of the vote and in 2000 with 75% of the vote.

Geography: The 3rd Congressional District is located in the central and western parts of Utah. The district includes all or part of the following counties: Beaver, Juab, Millard, Salt Lake, San Pete, Sevier and Utah Counties.

Statewide Roundup
The following are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election in Utah.
These results are UNOFFICIAL and INCOMPLETE until certified by the Utah Secretary of State:

DISTRICT/NAME RAW VOTE %__
*Indicates Incumbent

District 3:

Chris Cannon 12,269 39.84%
Jason Chaffetz 18,526 60.16% (DECLARED WINNER)

78.58% of Precincts Reporting

*The Salt Lake Tribune has declared a winner in UT-03

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