From Deseret News archives:
Utah elections unlikely to bring much change
1. A whole lot of money will be spent in Utah races this year with, I'm guessing, not much change.
2. The governor's race the first open chief executive contest in a dozen years started out with a bunch of Republicans in the pack, loads of cash being spent, and is ending with a relatively quiet pop. Certainly not a bang.
3. The most interesting race this season didn't look that way at the March candidate filing deadline. Who would have guessed that GOP Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman's re-election juggernaut (she had $500,000 in her early war chest) would strike the shoals and sink?
She didn't go down as quickly as the Titanic, but it was painful to view, nonetheless.
4. The LDS Church, which rarely speaks on political issues, is a dominant, deciding factor when it does.
5. You can run a winning race for the U.S. House (like in the 1st and 3rd districts) in a big election year and remain nearly invisible.
6. A Jim Matheson/John Swallow congressional contest is, now by definition, a bitter, hard fight.
To elaborate:
Democrat Scott Matheson Jr. had his party's nomination sewed up a year ago.
It was a tough battle for the Republicans from the get-go. One, local medical supply manufacturer Fred Lampropoulos, spent more than $3 million of his own money on the race. And he, like Walker, former U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen and Utah House Speaker Marty Stephens, was eliminated in a May state Republican convention.
The monthlong GOP primary race between Jon Huntsman Jr. and former state House speaker Nolan Karras proved to be a sleeper a big win for Huntsman.
And the Huntsman/Matheson final election campaign has been one of the most cordial affairs in decades. There are differences between the two men's approaches to the top state job, yes, but compared to the U.S. presidential and 2nd Congressional District campaigns, the governor's race is a kissy-face contest.
I mean, how much nicer can Huntsman and Scott Matheson be?
We don't have that problem in the race of incumbent Jim Matheson, Scott's younger brother.
It appears to me that the McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill has had some effect on this contest. Under the new law, outside groups can't run negative (or positive) independent TV campaigns 60 days from the election.
Rep. Matheson this summer thought groups might come in before the two-month deadline to pound him. They didn't.
Comments
- Today on TV 12:49 a.m.
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- Philippine police clash with clan 12:28 a.m.
- Officer responding to call killed 12:28 a.m.
- Editorial: Fine-tune state workweek 12:18 a.m.
- Let's keep energy money in the U.S. 12:18 a.m.
- How to pay for the war 12:17 a.m.
- Feast of Guadalupe nourishes soul 12:17 a.m.
- Obama's strategy is a road map 12:17 a.m.
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- BYU and Utah's bowl games
- Y., U. to learn bowl destinations
- BYU professor remembered
- The forgotten ship: USS Utah
- Branch president without a congregation
- Utahns want health care reform bills
- Kurt Bestor: Joy for the world
- BYU basketball: Cougars crush Dons
- Urn of baby rests with sailors
- Jazz upset by Wolves
- Letters: Liberal because LDS
257 - Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
214 - Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry
189 - Aggies shoot past Cougars
179 - N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage
130 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
113 - TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
110 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
97 - Harpring's NBA career is over
95 - Sloan gets 1-year extension
80
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