Hatch began wooing the tea party almost instantly after his home state colleague, Sen. Bob Bennett, ran into political problems that eventually led to his rejection at the Utah GOP convention last year. It was a warning shot for establishment candidates across the country that the tea party had gained real power within the Republican Party, and Hatch went to work reaching out to the grass-roots leaders of the movement.

The 76-year-old’s furious efforts back home are paying clear dividends, with tea party groups split on whether to organize the same sort of rebellion that took down Bennett.

David Kirkham, a car parts manufacturer who co-founded the Utah tea party, said that Hatch “communicates a lot, and that’s been a huge plus, frankly, over Bob Bennett.” While he said Hatch shouldn’t be anticipating a tea party endorsement, Kirkham said he doubted Hatch would face the same type of tea party outrage that doomed Bennett.