By the way, it's also easy to make too much of Matheson's victory. Look at how the race broke down in each county. The Republican challenger, John Swallow, took traditionally conservative Washington County by an almost 2-to-1 margin. He also dominated other Republican strongholds, including the part of Utah County that is in his district. But the part of Salt Lake County in his district went to him by a lopsided 127,861 to 63,543, according to morning-after figures on the state's Web site.

Which brings me to my next point:

• Gerrymandering doesn't work in Utah: Every 10 years, after new census figures are out, Utah Republicans sit down and carefully try to redraw the state's three congressional districts in such a way that a Democrat can't possibly win. And every time, it seems, they fail. With the exception of a few years of Republicans Enid Greene and Merrill Cook, the state's 2nd District has remained in Democratic hands since I moved here two decades ago.

There may be no way to draw three districts in Utah so that all three are Republican, and it's time to stop trying. A state so dominated by one party ought to turn its redistricting process over to a non-partisan process that looks more at logical communities of interest than at politics. That is particularly true where state legislative districts are concerned.

• Religion is no longer a big issue: Forty-four years ago, John F. Kennedy's Catholic faith was a huge factor. This year, John Kerry's Catholic faith was ignored, other than debates over just how devout he really is. So, have Americans matured to a point where they can accept anyone of any faith as a leader? We'll find out if Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is LDS, ever decides to run for president.

• Elections do end: You may have doubted this about a week ago. You most definitely doubted it if you were watching TV at 2 a.m. Wednesday and saw network anchors acting like hungry men at a chili cookoff. No one wanted to call a winner for fear of another protracted fight over ballots. But the beauty of American-style democracy is not just in the way it is conducted. It is in the way it ends. Despite all the harsh words and accusations, each race finishes with a gracious concession speech— a marvelous tradition that demonstrates forcefully how, in this country, power really does reside in the people.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com