Report: Orrin Hatch dodges conservative primary challenge

A July 19, 2011 file photo shows Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, at right and an April 21, 2010 file photo shows Sen Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, at left. Chaffetz says he hasn't decided whether he'll challenge Sen. Hatch in 2012, but it appears he has his sights already set on a statewide campaign. Chaffetz, a tea party favorite who is seen as a serious threat to Hatch's bid for a seventh term, begins a series of statewide town halls Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, only one of which is in his current congressional district. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Charles Dharapak)

Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch may have dodged a conservative primary challenge — at least from one possible opponent.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that sources say Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who has acknowledged that he is considering challenging Hatch for the GOP nomination, will announce Monday afternoon that he is not going to campaign for Hatch’s Senate seat.

Chaffetz did not immediately return a message from The Daily Caller left on his cell phone.

Chaffetz was expected to challenge Hatch from the right and was likely to benefit from the support of tea party groups — including Dick Armey’s group FreedomWorks — which have pledged to defeat Hatch.

But Chaffetz would not have been able to consolidate all conservatives against Hatch, who has earned the endorsement of a long list of conservative commentators, including Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin.