PROVO — A description of candidates running for the 3rd Congressional District seat sounds like a quirky new dance.
There are a few moves to the left.
And a lot of quick turns to the right.
Rep. Chris Cannon's steps toward a fourth term in Congress may be tougher as a result of redrawn district boundaries and challenges from within his own party by two seasoned political operatives who are taking aim at Cannon's "Potomac Fever."
Cannon, a 51-year-old lauded conservative in Washington, D.C., must defeat far-right activist and radio talk-show host Tom Draschil and Utah Rep. Matt Throckmorton, a 34-year-old flooring contractor and vocal conservative in the Utah Legislature, to keep his seat.
"I'm not running because I think I'm more conservative than Chris," said Throckmorton. "I'm running because I think I understand Utah issues — not what Washington wants."
Conventional wisdom would hold that Cannon, a multiterm GOP incumbent in one of the most Republican regions of the United States, should have the party's nomination locked up.
But the former Geneva Steel co-owner and venture capitalist first must survive rounds of delegate voting at the GOP convention Saturday.
It's not the first time Cannon has been targeted at the convention. He was surprised in 1998 by Jeremy Friedbaum, an unknown backed by an organized right-wing faction.
Cannon easily dispatched Friedbaum at the polls. And he rode President Bush's coat-tails to beat Democrat Donald Dunn in 2000.
Draschil says delegates have been receptive to his "100 percent fidelity to the Constitution" campaign pledge.
"Chris is a conservative by Washington standards," said Draschil, 52, whose political advisers include Don and Gayle Ruzicka, leaders of Utah's Eagle Forum and Utah Republican Assembly. "Where the rubber meets the road is with votes."
Draschil says Cannon votes for unconstitutional programs, such as an 2001 appropriation of $15.2 billion in foreign aid.
Such allocations are unconstitutional unless U.S. national security is at risk, he says. A list of Cannon votes he says are unconstitutional are on his Web site.
If elected, Draschil pledges to yank funding for the Violence Against Women Act, which he says is "feminist pork." He also wants to stop co-ed basic training in the U.S armed forces and opposes policies assigning women to military combat positions.
Throckmorton — who says his support comes from "old-fashioned Republicans" and "Reagan Democrats" — acknowledges the pitfalls of only courting conservatives.
Draschil's views "hinder his ability to pick up middle-of-the-road Republicans," he said.
And voter displeasure with Cannon was revealed in a recent Deseret News-KSL-TV poll that showed only 25 percent of 3rd District residents said Cannon should serve again, he said.
"In order to win, he has to convince everyone that nothing is wrong, that everything is fine," Throckmorton says, who is confident Cannon will be pushed into a primary run-off.
Indeed, Cannon touts his ties to Washington players — particularly the White House. This week, he distributed an endorsement from President Bush.
"It is important Chris wins," the president wrote in a May 3 letter. "The Congress needs his experienced leadership, and I need his continued support in Congress."
Cannon said he's worked closely with Bush's administration to reduce taxes while bolstering homeland security and defense. He also supported the administration's No Child Left Behind 2001, an education reform act.
"But our immediate objective will be continuing the fight against terrorism and securing our national defense," he said.
Democrats watch the GOP nomination tussle with great interest. A Republican move to the right would be good for a conservative Democrat in the gerrymandered district, which now includes more of Salt Lake.
The Democratic nominating convention also is Saturday.
Salt Lake voters are more liberal than their counterparts in Utah County. And Democrats think a moderate candidate could sway voters in both counties who are wary of far-right philosophies.
"That's exactly the plan," said Danny Quintana, a 45-year-old wheelchair athlete and West Valley lawyer who advised the Goshutes during negotiations to store nuclear waste on tribal land.
"In any other state I'd be a moderate Republican," said Quintana, a fan of President Bush and his White House advisers. "Here, I'm a conservative Democrat."
Quintana, who boasts of his frugality, is anti-new taxes. "There is so much money going to Washington," he said.
Instead, lawmakers should re-prioritize spending. One of the first changes should be to use federal money to push all teacher salaries to $50,000 per year, he said.
Quintana also thinks the government, instead of building missiles for possible warfare, should plug money into mass transit systems to solve traffic and energy woes.
Nancy Jane Woodside, 59, who led a Democratic Party revival in Utah County, espouses more liberal philosophies than her counterparts in both parties.
Besides Quintana and Woodside, 68-year-old retired Air Force colonel John Maurin and Riverton appraiser Sitouni "Stoney" Teiko Fonua, 45, filed to run. They could not be reached for comment.
But despite what may be heard in what she calls a "whisper campaign" against her, Woodside said she doesn't stray too far to the left.
Woodside, a Boston transplant, has been called Nancy "Hanoi Jane" Woodside and accused of taking trips to Vietnam with actress Jane Fonda to protest the Vietnam War.
"That's something I didn't do," said Woodside, who owns a Provo-based mediation company and strongly supports a worker's right to join a union and negotiate for wages.
Woodside supports the war on terrorism but doesn't think the campaign against Osama bin Laden "should be used as a smokescreen to take away" civil rights.
Like Quintana, she believes the size and scope of the federal government need to be reduced. So far, delegates seem to like her message, she said. Supporters also have chartered buses Saturday to drive delegates to the convention.
Woodside thinks this could be the year Democrats will win back the seat Bill Orton lost to Cannon in 1996.
A Republican rush to embrace conservatism at convention time will repel middle-of-the-road voters, she said.
"They are already out there," she said. "They are already too far to the right."
E-MAIL: jeffh@desnews.com