Utah’s Cannon among Congress' first amnesty supporters to lose his seat in 2008, but won't be the last

Utah Republican Congressman Chris Cannon, a strong supporter of amnesty, lost his bid for a seventh term this week in a primary that focused on just how conservative he was. He was defeated by first-time candidate Jason Chaffetz, a former Brigham Young University football player.

Chaffetz claimed Cannon was soft on immigration, saying his votes amounted to offering amnesty to people in the country illegally. In 2003, Cannon had sponsored a bill that would have allowed states to charge in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.

In addition, Cannon called for a guest-worker program that does not punish businesses and allows immigrants to travel freely across the border. Chaffetz said he wants the U.S. to deport all illegal immigrants and stop granting automatic citizenship to children born here if their parents aren’t legal residents.

The congressman's primary loss struck hard in Washington, where other members already fear they too may face an angry mob of voters in November. They see Cannon's loss as the ''congressman in the coalmine.''

"No incumbent is truly safe in this environment," said Ken Spain, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee. With gas prices soaring, immigration issues unsolved and crushing federal deficits looming, voters are giving Congress some of the lowest approval ratings ever.