Utahns gear up for Demo primary

Hatch agreed that any effort matters in a state that's dominated by the Republican party. "Democrats out here adore getting any attention, because we're not used to it," he said. The primary could have been changed "dramatically by Edwards coming to the state."

There are more candidates on the Utah ballot than just Kerry and Edwards, but only Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is still in the race. Kucinich, who has the endorsement of Utah's progressive Democrats, made a brief appearance Sunday at the Salt Lake City International Airport. Although still in the race, Al Sharpton is not on the Utah ballot because he did not apply to be.

The results of Utah's primary will determine who gets 23 of the state's 29 delegate votes during the party's national convention. The other six are so-called "super delegates," state party officials who are not committed to a candidate.

Under the complex rules that govern the Democratic party's presidential nominations, even a candidate who is no longer running can earn a share of the delegate count by winning at least 15 percent of the vote.

That might happen for Dean, who had a strong organization in Utah. Kucinich's supporters are also pushing hard to meet that threshold, although the candidate's Utah spokesman, Joe Inman, said voters may just follow whoever they see as the frontrunner come Tuesday.

"They're just jumping on the bandwagon," Inman said. "I fear voters will mark their ballots for the last person they heard about."

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