At a "meet the candidates" gathering, I heard Independent Party candidate Craig Oliver tell the audience the benefits of electing a true Independent to the U.S. Senate. What he said made sense to me. With the makeup of the next Senate projected to be evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, one Independent senator's vote could be the deciding vote on all party line issues.
Both Republicans and Democrats would want Utah's input on virtually every matter. This state's national political influence would be second to none. Orrin Hatch says we should keep him in the Senate forever because of his tremendous influence and prestige. But that influence seems small when compared with Utah having the deciding vote in what we all know will be an extremely partisan Senate.This is one voter willing to give Oliver a chance. I think it would be very beneficial for Utah if we had that kind of influence. With the dealmaking style that the U.S. Senate is famous for, if Oliver played his cards right, great things could be accomplished for our state.
Charles Baxter
Salt Lake City