Congressman jason chaffetz of Utah has announced that he will not be seeking reelection to his seat in Congress in 2018. He also told his supporters that he would also not be running for any office in 2018 saying, "I may run for public office again, but not in 2018." This statement from Chaffetz was surprising, as he said he wanted to return to the private sector and spend more time with family. He also choice was a "personal" one and reiterated that his decision had nothing to do with political or personal health concerns.
Chaffetz's career in politics
Chaffetz's most notable political act before being elected to Congress was his role as campaign manager in Jon Huntsman's successful run for governor of Utah in 2004. Following the election, Jason Chaffetz served as Huntsman's chief of staff for almost two years. He also served as a chairman for the Utah National Guard Adjutant review and on the Highland City planning commission.
In 2007 Chaffetz decided to run against six-term Republican incumbent Chris Cannon for Utah's 3rd district seat in the House of Representatives. In a surprising upset, Chaffetz defeated Cannon in the primary and then easily beat his Democratic challenger. During his four runs for reelection in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 Chaffetz has easily won every time, getting at least 72% of the vote in the general election.
His biggest accomplishment in the House of Representatives came in November 2014 when he won the four-way race to become chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He became only the fifth person to become a full chairman after just three terms in Congress.
Governor of Utah?
The day following his announcement Jason Chaffetz suggested that he has not ruled out leaving his post in Congress before it is up in 2018.
There has also been speculation abound since Chaffetz declared that he would not be running for reelection.
It has been suggested that he quit due to a possible strong primary and general election challenge. Others think that his time in Congress was done, as what catapulted his rise to stardom during his role as a watchdog chairman was his attacks on Hillary Clinton and security lapses made by the Secret Service.
Now, he is a watchdog put in the position of having to attack and investigate a Republican president.
Others think that Chaffetz is not running because he has his eyes on a bigger prize, running for Utah's governorship in 2020. By not running in 2018, he avoids a possibly damaging reelection campaign and the chance at being defeated. He also can try to disassociate himself with President Trump.
