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Jason Chaffetz announces he won’t run for office in 2018
I saw his town hall difficulties on YouTube. Wasn't pretty. Could be that Chaffetz sees the 2018 writing on the wall.By Elise Viebeck April 19, 2017
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz announced Wednesday that he will not seek political office in 2018, a decision that comes amid rising speculation that he will run for governor of Utah in 2020. “For those that would speculate otherwise, let me be clear that I have no ulterior motives,” Chaffetz (R-Utah) wrote on his Facebook page. “I am healthy. I am confident I would continue to be reelected by large margins. I have the full support of Speaker Ryan to continue as Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. That said, I have made a personal decision to return to the private sector.”
Earlier this month, Chaffetz held a town hall meeting during which an angry crowd criticized his tenure as oversight chairman, among other issues. He has faced several angry demonstrations in his district since Trump’s election, but dismissed them in February as “very, very small minority” that is “not representative of the average person, certainly not in Utah.” Protesters’ primary complaint is Chaffetz’s unwillingness to aggressively investigate the Trump administration and Trump’s conflicts of interest.