State party chairman Joe Cannon, who is also a member of the Deseret Morning News board of directors, said that Salt Lake "is the battleground county" in the state and is vital if the GOP plans to continue its dominance. At the same time, there is only so much the state party, with only a half-dozen employees, can effectively do, especially on the more local races for county government.

Along with the inner-party battles, Cannon said that the "county issues" had a significant impact on county and legislative races in 2004. If anything, they proved that winning in Salt Lake County for Republicans, unlike many other parts of the state, requires more than just an "R" on the ballot.

"It takes the full complement of tools," Cannon said. "A big part of that is a strong, vibrant county party."

One thing that does need to happen, Cannon said, is for both the county and state party to stop devoting an unnecessary energy to "a small group of dissidents." While minority groups within the party can cause a ruckus at conventions by a savvy use of the rules, outside of the convention halls the party should primarily focus its time on organizing campaigns and recruiting volunteers.

While more county residents still identify with the Republican Party than any other political group, as polls by Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV pollster Dan Jones & Associates show, Republicans aren't a majority in the county.

In 1995, 40 percent of county residents told Jones they were Republicans. Democrats made up 23 percent, and 31 percent were independents. Similar numbers were in a survey completed last month, when 39 percent said they are Republicans, 26 percent said they are Democrats and 27 percent said they are political independents.

But recently, county voters have been more than willing to pick a Democrat in one race, a Republican in another. Split-ticket balloting is a way of life for many county Republicans, which leads to distressing numbers for GOP leaders in races that they dominate elsewhere in the state:

• While losing the 2004 governor's race to GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Democrat Scott Matheson Jr. actually won Salt Lake County. Scott Matheson outpolled Huntsman by 19,000 votes in the county, winning 52-46 percent. Huntsman, of course, crushed Matheson in other counties, winning the seat.

• Matheson's little brother, U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, won in Salt Lake County last year by even a bigger margin than he did in 2002. Rep. Matheson defeated Republican challenger John Swallow by more than 66,000 votes (2-to-1) in the county, 65-32 percent.

Rep. Matheson's district runs along the east bench of the county, one of the most Republican areas in the county.