This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The road toward re-election just got easier for Sen. Orrin Hatch.

State Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, officially ended his challenge to the well-known and well-financed five-term U.S. senator Wednesday, saying he underestimated how popular Hatch is among Utahns.

"He has a lot of support in this state," Urquhart said. "People believe he is doing a good job for us."

And that support diminished Urquhart's ability to raise campaign funds or attract volunteers.

Urquhart set personal milestones to determine whether he had the public support to continue his intraparty challenge of Hatch. In the three months since he announced his candidacy, Urquhart hoped to sign up 2,500 volunteers and bank $50,000 in donations.

He was able to raise only $10,000 and gain the support of 1,500 volunteers.

He called Hatch early Wednesday to say he was backing out. They talked about the "rough water of politics" for about 10 minutes, Urquhart said.

He will now focus on campaigning to keep his legislative seat.

The Hatch campaign complimented Urquhart as "a very able public official."

"Whenever you have a challenge it always makes you a better person, a better candidate and a better public servant," said Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen. "The senator very much looks forward to working with Steve in the upcoming election year."

Urquhart has previously criticized Hatch by saying he is not responsive to his constituents.

On Wednesday, Urquhart said he was not prepared to throw his support behind Hatch, although he said, "I definitely have an appreciation for the good work that he does and the effort he puts into his job."

When asked whether Hatch could be beaten in 2006, Urquhart said: "Not by me."

Hatch has a 65 percent approval rating, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted Oct. 14 through Oct. 16 with the financial backing of KSL-TV.

He is the 15th most popular senator in the country. The study had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.

Hansen hopes no other Republican will challenge Hatch in the convention. Urquhart said he knew of no one who was interested in doing so.

Still, Hatch will face a challenge from Democrat Pete Ashdown, a political novice who is the CEO of XMission, an Internet service provider.

Ashdown complimented Urquhart saying, "He always impressed me with his willingness to buck the status quo and give light to new ideas.

"Steve and I differ on policy vision, but we agreed on one thing: It is time for Senator Hatch to retire."

Ashdown is a long shot in a state where no Democrat holds a statewide office. He hoped an intraparty challenge would split the Republicans and benefit his campaign.