Utah’s former U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett died Wednesday from complications of pancreatic cancer and a recent stroke, his family confirmed in a statement posted to his Facebook page. He was 82. The Republican senator was first elected to office in 1992 and was widely considered a moderate among Utah’s highly conservative base. He left office in 2010 amid the Tea Party movement. Bennett had a stroke on April 11, and told the Deseret News a week later that he had been diagnosed with cancer, which had started in his pancreas but spread to his stomach and near his liver. He said he was receiving hospice care at his home in Arlington, Virginia. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney issued a statement calling Bennett a friend and a counselor while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said he was a “wise and thoughtful leader.”
