page_title: Orrin Hatch
section_title: Elections
hierarchical_section_title: Orrin Hatch / Elections
caption_attribution_description: English: Senator Hatch worked closely with President Bush throughout his administration, including the Gulf War and some extremely partisan Supreme Court judicial nomination proceedings.
context_page_description: Orrin Grant Hatch is an American attorney, retired politician, and composer who served as a United States Senator from Utah for 42 years. He is the longest-serving Republican U.S. Senator in history and the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Utah.
  Hatch chaired the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions from 1981 to 1987. He also served as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005. On January 3, 2015, after the 114th United States Congress was sworn in, Hatch became President pro tempore of the Senate. He served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 2015 to 2019. Hatch led the efforts to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He retired in January 2019 and was succeeded by the former 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.
context_section_description: In 1976, in his first run for public office, Hatch was elected to the United States Senate, defeating Democrat Frank Moss, a three-term incumbent. Hatch criticized Moss's 18-year tenure in the Senate, saying, "What do you call a Senator who's served in office for 18 years? You call him home." Hatch ran on the promise of term limits and argued that many Senators, including Moss, had lost touch with their constituents.
  In 1982, Hatch won re-election, defeating Mayor of Salt Lake City Ted Wilson by 17 points. He defeated Brian Moss (Frank Moss' son) by 35 points in 1988 and was re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2012. 
  In 2000, Hatch sought the Republican presidential nomination. After finishing last in the Iowa caucuses, Hatch withdrew his candidacy on January 27, 2000 and endorsed eventual winner George W. Bush.
caption: Hatch greeting President George H. W. Bush
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