It's not unusual for those running for the Utah Legislature to come from backgrounds similar to their opponents.

This year, however, there's a district with a twist. The next man elected to the House District 14 seat in Davis County will be a Japanese American.

Matthew Burbank, associate professor of political science at the University of Utah, called the race between Republican Curtis Oda and Democrat Tab Uno an "extremely unusual circumstance."

"To have two people running against each other, both of the same ethnic background, that's fairly extraordinary," he said.

Oda, 51, and Uno, 48, are both lifelong Utah residents. Both say their grandparents emigrated from Japan. Both have relatives who were imprisoned at internment camps during World War II. Both also have relatives who fought in that war.

The winner of the race will replace Don Bush, R-Clearfield, who retired after representing the district for 14 years.

Clearfield, a community of about 26,000 people, is 75 percent white, according to the 2000 Census.

People of Asian decent comprise under 4 percent of the population, according to the census.

Burbank said while Utah's diversity has grown over the last decade, he expects the legislative demographic to change more gradually. He expects the Legislature to remain "overwhelmingly male, overwhelmingly middle-aged, overwhelmingly LDS" for now.

"The fastest growing minorities are Hispanics," he said. "Many recent Hispanic immigrants coming here are looking for jobs. Being involved in politics is pretty low down on the list."

However, there are exceptions to the rule. Senate District 1 in Salt Lake City is traditionally represented by a minority. For years, Pete Suazo, a Hispanic Democrat, occupied that seat. It's now held by James Evans, a black Republican.

Oda, an insurance agent, and Uno, a therapist, may have similar heritages, but there are some key differences. Oda didn't speak English until he started school. Uno never learned to speak Japanese.

"It was really insisted in our family; we had to become American in order to succeed," Uno said. "School was the most important thing."

"My wife is fluent, but I'm not," Uno said. "I regret that. One thing that makes me sensitive about . . . diversity issues, I am caught between two cultures. I understand what I've lost."

Uno served on the Salt Lake City School Board for two years. Education remains among his top priorities.

Oda still speaks some Japanese, but "unfortunately when you don't get to use it, you lose a lot of it. I speak just enough to get myself into trouble at this point."

Oda has been on the Clearfield City Council for eight years. He did not run for a third term.

He said he has a Samurai background, and his relatives can trace his ancestry back 700 years. Still, he considers himself an American Japanese, not the other way around.

"We were always told to be very proud of our heritage," Oda said. "I definitely am. I am an American first."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com