Well good for Ashdown, it is extremely difficult for a challenger to win against an incumbent, even one like Hatch. Senator Packwood from Oregon was challenged a couple of times by a Harry Lonsdale who was unsuccessful in each attempt. If you are interested in what kind of fates are against a challenger pick up Lonsdale's book "Running", he talks about how Senators will have money donated to each others campaign in elections cycles that they themselves are not participating. Lobby firms will donate money to the incumbent’s race even if they don't always get along, simply because they know the incumbent and know where he stands and how to deal with him. So good luck Ashdown. I have more experience with this, not just reading it in some book.