WEST VALLEY CITY — Saying other Republicans in Utah's U.S. Senate race are "counterfeit conservatives," Cherilyn Eagar formally entered it Thursday by proclaiming herself the "real deal" — and even held high her copy of a well-worn book by conservative icon Cleon Skousen that she says will be her guide.
"Cleon Skousen, the author of 'The 5,000 Year Leap,' used to come to our home to give lectures" about the Constitution when she grew up in California, Eagar said. She vowed to "return to the principles" that it teaches.
To show how long she has cared about politics, she added, "My mother stopped at the polls to vote before she went to the hospital to have me. You might say I was born Republican."
Eagar is the latest entrant in a crowded field challenging incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah. Other Republicans who have announced their candidacy include Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and small-business owner James Russell Williams III. Former congressional candidate Tim Bridgewater also has indicated he will run. And Democrat Sam Granato is a candidate.
Eagar, 58, of Holladay, was a professional singer and actress, and since 2007 has co-owned a real estate Internet marketing company. She has been active in a number of GOP women's groups and political campaigns, but this is her first run for office besides running for a school board when she lived in Texas.
Eagar began her campaign by taking shots at the other GOP candidates in the race.
"I'm told this is a four-way race. It's not," she said. "It's a two-way race: a race between three counterfeit conservatives and one authentic conservative. I'm the real deal."
She added, "I have one word to say about Bob Bennett: bailout," complaining he voted for the initial bailout for troubled financial firms (although he opposed later versions). She also said his actions have helped put America on a "bullet train to tyranny."
"I have two words to say about Mark Shurtleff and Tim Bridgewater: John McCain. At a time when the field had several great conservative choices, Shurtleff and Bridgewater chose the guy in the middle of the road," Eagar said. "And we all know what happens to the armadillo in the middle of the road."
She said she supported Mitt Romney for president.
Eagar said the Republican Party currently reminds her of a first-grade soccer game, where the parents are yelling, "Go that way. Go that way."
"The GOP is facing an identity crisis," she said, "and it needs strong, solid conservative voices now more than ever to help steer it through these treacherous socialist waters."
Eagar said her campaign will have five ideals: "fiscal restraint, limited government, free-market solutions, energy independence and a strong national defense, all ideals for which Ronald Reagan and our founders stood."
She chose to announce her campaign at a Marie Callender's restaurant instead of a government building, she said, to show her support for free enterprise by standing in a business "that has thrived because of the free market that we are now fast losing."
"I'm a real person. I've faced joy and sorrow, success and failure," she said. "I've made some brilliant choices and some poor ones. I've been a single mom, and I know the struggle. I've raised five wonderful children, and I have nine darling grandchildren … I'm doing this for them."
Among supporters at her announcement was Gayle Ruzicka, leader of the conservative Eagle Forum.
"She's a personal friend, and she represents the same values that I have," Ruzicka said of Eagar. "She's been involved (in politics) for years and years, and I know the foundation that she's coming from. I know she won't change. What she says is what she'll do — and that's important."
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