This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The buzz I've been hearing increasingly of late is that, instead of running against Sen. Orrin Hatch in 2012, GOP darling Jason Chaffetz might target Gov. Gary Herbert.
For a guy like Chaffetz with a young family, there would have to be some appeal to being able to stay in Utah as opposed to shuttling back and forth to his cot in D.C.
In addition, I'm told that there is polling that shows Chaffetz beating the governor.
But Chaffetz told me this week that such a challenge is unlikely.
"I'm not headed in that direction," he said. "At some point I'd love to run for it, but I don't know if 2012 is the time for it."
Chaffetz said he's enjoying his work in the House, just got new committee assignments that he wanted, and is in a good spot.
Likewise, Herbert told my D.C. colleague Matt Canham this week that he doesn't anticipate a Chaffetz challenge.
"The indication he has given to me is that he's happy in his job in Congress. He's moving up the ladder. His leadership likes him. He's doing a good job there," Herbert said. "He's told me he thinks I'm doing a great job."
One intriguing tidbit that might speak to Chaffetz's plans: He said he has been doing political events recently in Ogden and St. George. That's significant because neither city is in his congressional district.
He says that, with redistricting looming, they could be. But the odds seem long that Ogden would ever be moved out of U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop's disrict.
— Robert GehrkeTwitter: @RobertGehrke