Utah gets a D- grade for its campaign finance laws. But, hey, it could be worse. Wyoming got an F.

While most of this week's National Conference of State Legislatures meetings in the Salt Palace are about governing, the nation's legislators spend a lot of time worrying about their re-elections, too.

And Wednesday, several session discussions concerned elections, money and campaign finance laws.

"We know this is hard for you," said Linda Meggers, director of Georgia's Reapportionment Office, at one NCSL session on campaign finance disclosure. "For (campaign finance disclosure) is dear to people running for office."

Seventeen states got a failing grade in the report, perhaps in part because sitting lawmakers don't want to require more disclosure of their own campaign finances.

But whether states have adequate campaign finance reporting laws or not, the 2004 elections for legislators across the nation are vital, leaders in both political parties told an NCSL news conference.

While the media will concentrate on the battle between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for the White House, critical congressional and legislative races are also going on.

Expensive battles

Recent elections have seen Republicans gaining majorities in state legislatures. And in a dozen or so states, the 2004 elections "are big, huge, gigantic" in determining whether Republicans or Democrats control the House, Senate or both houses of a legislature, said Tim Storey, NCSL senior fellow.

Utah is not one of them. On a large U.S. map with states whose legislatures are up for play this election, Utah is solidly beige, joining about two dozen other states with no chance that the current legislative majority will switch.

Republicans hold two-thirds majorities in both the Utah House and Senate. Democrats haven't had a majority in either body since 1978.

But, said Storey, the state House, Senate or both bodies in the legislatures in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado (among others) could swing this election. Republicans now have majorities in both houses in 21 states; Democrats hold both houses in 17 states and the legislature is split between the parties in 11 states. Nebraska has a non-partisan Legislature.

In one sense, Utahns should be happy about their legislative contests: They don't cost all that much. You can still run and win a Utah House seat for around $25,000, although some hotly contested races are much more than that.

But state Rep. Mike Veon, Pennsylvania House Democratic Whip and treasurer of the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said a contested state House race there runs between $700,000 and $1 million per candidate every two years. The DLCC will spend around $10 million in targeted legislative races across the nation this fall. Alex Johnson of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee said his counter-DLCC group will spend about $5 million.