FreedomWorks “Legislative Entrepreneur of the Year” Dan Liljenquist Officially Enters the Utah Senate Race

WASHINGTON, DC- Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist officially announced that he will challenge incumbent senator Orrin Hatch in the Utah Senate race Wednesday morning. FreedomWorks’ President Matt Kibbe released the following statement in response to the announcement:

“We are very pleased to see a dedicated and proven conservative like Dan Liljenquist step up and challenge the status quo in Utah. His record in the State Senate shows clearly that Liljenquist has the ability to produce innovative solutions to budget woes, and to effectively turn those ideas into action and real legislative change.”  

“Senator Orrin Hatch is a 36-year incumbent who has consistently abandoned limited government principles, authored legislation with liberal Democrats, and voted to expand the size of the federal government. Between his vote to create the Department of Education in 1979, to his vote for the TARP bailout in 2008, Hatch has consistently voted to expand government beyond its Constitutional limitations. At the end of the day, our Utah activists have been asking us: Why settle for an Orrin Hatch, when you can have another Mike Lee?

“Our activists in Utah have repeatedly emphasized that they don’t want another Republican in the Senate, they want a conservative. We believe that Senator Liljenquist will be one of numerous conservative candidates who will be stepping into the race to replace Senator Orrin Hatch, whose retirement is long overdue.”

Senator Liljenquist has a proven track record as an advocate of fiscal responsibility in Utah, and his legislative successes serve as a model for states across the country. Last November, he was awarded the FreedomWorks’ “Legislative Entrepreneur of the Year Award” for saving Utahns hundreds of millions of dollars through pension and entitlement reform. For a complete listing of Sen. Hatch’s big-government voting record, visit http://www.hatchrecord.com.