So if you have not heard about it, yesterday seven-term Congressman Jim Matheson, Democrat from Utah's 4th district, announced that he would not seek re-election. Now, I'm only going to briefly provide my thoughts about Matheson himself, as I could go on and on and on about him, and I want to get to the meat of this diary quickly; I want to detail possible candidates to succeed him.
Anyway, as a resident of Matheson's district, I have to say that he's a soulless politicial chameleon, but he's our soulless politicial chameleon. I do not like most of his votes, but I respect the fact that he has to vote in a centrist way on many issues, because of the conservatism of his district. I do not like his weasel word answers, but I respect his ability to pound the pavement and run one of the greatest campaign operations in the nation. I like when he votes progressively, and I think he will be a great asset for Utah Democrats if he runs for governor. I was in Jason Chaffetz's district before 2012, and even as conservative as Matheson is, I greatly prefer him to Chaffetz. I mourn the loss of national Dem money that Matheson's retirement ensures, as it helped many down-ballot Dems. And I respect the fact that as minority whip, he could wrangle up Democratic votes for progressive legislation, even if he couldn't vote for it himself.
Follow me beyond the Great Orange squiggle for my thoughts on candidates in both parties who could (or are already campaigning to) run for Matheson's district.
