Deseret News | GOP selects Huntsman, Karras

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GOP selects Huntsman, Karras

Cannon is forced into primary battle in the 3rd District

By Bob Bernick Jr. and Jerry D. Spangler
Deseret Morning News

Published: Sunday, May 9, 2004 12:51 a.m. MDT

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In the end, Walker's bid to be the first elected woman governor was sunk by a number of factors. She admits her vetoes of two controversial bills was unpopular among some GOP delegates. And her late entry in the race left her scrambling for campaign staff and money. And there was the inescapable reality that some delegates say she was too moderate.

But her campaign may have been the critical factor that pushed her good friend Karras into the primary runoff with Huntsman. Under the "instant runoff balloting" used at the convention, most of Walker's support shifted to Karras once she dropped off after the fifth round of voting. That support shot Karras past Lampropoulos into the second primary slot.

Lampropoulos and Karras were running neck and neck throughout the first six rounds of voting. That is until 65 percent of Walker's support shifted to Karras.

Walker would not say whether she endorses Karras, only that he was her friend.

Lampropoulos says there is "no question" he was the target of last-minute rumor-mongering that hurt his front-runner status, but he was philosophical about the loss and considers himself wiser for the experience, refusing to blame the rumors for his loss.

"If I decide to run again, maybe the rumors and questions would be behind us," he said. "But I am not upset. It is the way the process worked."

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Karras, meanwhile, was basking in the win and pondering the thought of facing off against Huntsman, another millionaire. But the convention, Karras said, "proves that money doesn't do it all. Fred's a wonderful guy (but) he spent a lot of money and comes away empty-handed. And I don't mean that in any mean way. At some point, money doesn't work. Frankly, we'll just go with the people who know what it is like to make a mortgage payment."

Karras said it was his speech at the convention that put him over the top. "I think some people were waiting to see if we had the energy to go against a primary or against Matheson in the fall. And I think we laid those fears away."

Huntsman said he was not disappointed by the narrow win. "All along we just wanted to get out (of convention)," he said. "I'll be saying the same things over the next 10 months. We're going to work hard. It's not the money (you spend), its how hard you work. And that hard work will be more important than the cost of a primary."