2006 U.S. Senate Election
Ashdown was the only Democrat who filed to run against incumbent Republican Senator Orrin Hatch in the 2006 Utah Senate election. Ashdown stated that he was "disgusted" by Hatch's policies regarding technology, notably the INDUCE Act. He supports the goals of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and has stated the support for reforming copyright laws in support of initiatives taken by the EFF.
In July 2005, Ashdown was endorsed by the blog Boing Boing for the election. Ashdown is believed to be one of the first politicians to use a wiki to develop a campaign platform, although he has had to restrict editing due to excessive vandalism.
Ashdown lost, and Hatch was re-elected with 62% of the vote, but Ashdown's showing of 31% was claimed to be strong against an entrenched incumbent, and the low amount of money spent by the Ashdown campaign (around $250,000).
Read more about this topic: Pete Ashdown
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