Election Year 2004 opened for Utah Democrats like any other — a hope of better things, hold on to what you have, maybe a few small gains in a heavily Republican state.

But as scandal fell upon scandal, misstep on misstep, as the long summer progressed, Democrats had a chance, perhaps, to have their best election since 1990 — when 3rd Congressional District Republicans self-destructed and Democrats ended up holding two of three U.S. House seats.

What happened to that open door?

Is it that Democrats didn't capitalize politically? Or are Utahns so rooted in their conservative Republicanism that fumble after penalty just doesn't matter?

The votes Tuesday will tell.

But as Utahns go to the polls, rarely have they seen such political bumbling by officeholders and candidates of their major political party.

Example 1: Salt Lake County.

After winning the majority of the new county council and the mayorship in the 2000 vote to change the form of county government, the GOP-controlled county fell apart this spring.

First an investigation showed several top county officials misused their county-owned vehicles and the credit cards issued to pay for gasoline in those cars. Two of county Mayor Nancy Workman's top aides resigned. The independently elected county auditor, also a Republican, resigned and pleaded guilty to misuse of funds.

But "guzzle-gate," as the press nicknamed it, wasn't the worst of it. The Deseret Morning News first reported that Workman had authorized the hiring of a part-time bookkeeper for a Boys and Girls Club where her daughter was the financial director.

Charges of misuse of public funds were finally brought, and in a public circus of events, Workman vowed to fight on, was challenged by an independent write-in Republican (developer Ellis Ivory) and then got out of the race. It took a Utah Supreme Court decision to put Ivory on Tuesday's ballot as the official Republican mayoral nominee.

Example 2: U.S. House 2nd District race.

Republican John Swallow lost to incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson by less than 1 percentage point in 2002 in a newly drawn district that is heavily Republican. After Swallow won the GOP nomination in the June primary, a close general election was anticipated.

Down by as much as 30 points in the polls in September, Swallow, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Utah Republican Party began strident criticism of Matheson.

Matheson immediately began running anti-Swallow ads, soon joined by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Then, a week ago, the Deseret Morning News reported that two of the fliers mailed under the state GOP's name were, in fact, criticizing Matheson for votes supporting bills and/or proposals sponsored by other members of the Utah GOP delegation, President Bush and national Republicans. Finger-pointing ensued: Who was responsible, the state GOP or the National Republican Congressional Committee?