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| Mia Love lost the U.S. Congressional race last year by only 768 votes |
According to Bryan Schott of UtahPolicy.com, about the conservative Republican politician's second likely U.S. Congressional bid: "Hiring [former Utah GOP chairman Dave] Hansen is brilliant. He ran a nearly flawless campaign for Orrin
Hatch in 2012, guiding him to another term in the Senate. When running a
campaign, Hansen doesn’t make unforced errors. He won’t lose elections,
he forces you beat him — which is hard to do. Love’s hiring of
Hansen accomplishes a number of important things for her. It gives her
an incredible head start over any other candidates who may be thinking
about joining the race and makes them think twice about going up against
her. Anyone who opposes Love for the GOP nomination could make
the case she squandered a golden opportunity to take down [Rep. Jim] Matheson in
2012. It was a year with Mitt Romney at the top of the ticket in Utah —
which should have resulted in an easy win. Hansen’s presence on Love’s
campaign helps to deflect those attacks."
He adds: "Hansen will also help
her bring in donations. There was a thought that when Love lost a
winnable race against Matheson in 2012 she wouldn’t get another chance.
The conventional wisdom after the election said big donors would likely
shy away from donating again, keeping her out of the race. Having Hansen
at the helm should assuage any fears that Love could choke again. National Republicans are once again targeting Utah’s 4th District and
are poised to throw significant resources at Matheson to unseat him.
There may be some hesitation to get behind Love after what happened in
November. Hansen will minimize that. Plus his connections in Washington
from his time as head of the Utah GOP will open up more fundraising
doors usually not available to Congressional challengers."
