By Michael Teitelbaum, CQ Staff

The rhetoric in Tuesday’s Republican primary in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District has a lot in common with the Democratic presidential primaries. While the candidates espouse similar positions, six-term incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon is running on his record of accomplishments and experience, and challenger Jason Chaffetz is running as an agent of change.

Whoever wins Tuesday’s primary is likely to be in the next Congress. President Bush won the district in 2004, 77 percent to 20 percent. CQ Politics rates the November race as Safe Republican.

Cannon nearly did not make it to the June 24 primary election, having barely squeaked out just over 40 percent at the state party convention in Orem on May 10. Under the state party’s unusual way of culling candidates, a primary is required because no one candidate received 60 percent of the delegate votes on any ballot.

This is Cannon’s third serious challenge for the Republican nomination in as many elections. He was beaten 52 percent to 48 percent at the 2006 state convention by developer John D. Jacob, only to pull out a 12-point win in the primary. Two years before that, he could not get 60 percent against state Rep. Matt Throckmorton in the convention, but defeated him 58 percent to 42 percent in the primary.

Chaffetz, owner of a corporate communications firm, has some name familiarity as a former football placekicker at Utah’s Brigham Young University. He is also a former campaign manager, congressional liaison and chief of staff to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Chaffetz is trying to paint himself as the “true” conservative candidate and says Cannon is not. He cites the congressman’s support of the No Child Left Behind Act and the 2003 Medicare prescription drug benefit expansion laws. He said he would repeal the NCLB education law, arguing, “The federal government should not be in the public education business.” He advocates abolishing the Department of Education and making deep cuts in government spending.

He chastised Cannon for a May 18, 2006, vote for a Republican budget resolution which Chaffetz says was the single largest budget and debt-creating bill at that time. He opposes earmarks and signed a pledge he would not ask for or support them in fiscal 2009 while Cannon does not oppose them but wants to have a more transparent process.

But Chaffetz is focusing most of his attacks on Cannon’s relatively moderate stance on immigration. Cannon supported proposals to assimilate a number of immigrants in the country illegally while toughening border security. Chaffetz says Cannon supports amnesty.

Cannon attacks back, saying he has a tough record on immigration and that Chaffetz’s “Web site says illegals should be able to stay and get a temporary pass, and not do anything.”

Cannon is running on his Washington credentials, citing his influence on such things as cosponsoring a 2007 law that creates a seven-year extension of the ban on Internet-access taxes. He also touts his cosponsorship of a 2008 law authorizing money to reduce recidivism by helping former prisoners obtain housing, employment, education and health care.

Cannon says while he may not be as flashy or talkative as other members, he regularly attends hearings, offers amendments helpful to Utah at bill markups and occasionally speaks on the House floor.

Financially, Cannon has had the upper hand. He raised almost $628,000 but had $9,259 in cash on hand as of the June 4 pre-primary filing deadline. He has gathered roughly $64,000 since then.

Chaffetz raised nearly $164,000 and had more than $65,000 remaining in cash on hand as of the filing deadline and has received roughly $8,300 over the past two weeks.