State senators have said there is no need for legislative term limits, noting that since 1998, of the 29 Senate districts, 23 are now filled with new faces. But in the more than a dozen changes in the last eight years, only five came from election defeats.

Of the 16 Senate seats up for election, three of them are filled by incumbents appointed to serve out terms of resigning senators.

This year Democrats are toeing a more optimistic line that reflects the national state of politics, where the support for President Bush has plummeted and Republican congressman are expecting stiff opposition in many previously "safe" districts. In Utah, House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, said that he hopes that could translate to some upsets in legislative races.

"We would like for people to look really closely at the candidates, and not just vote for a party," Becker said. "This year, we think that could happen."

Jeff Bell, the communications director for the Utah Democratic Party, said that it is "looking like a distinct possibility" that they could field a full slate of legislative candidates this year, something which the party often struggles to do. An added benefit is that candidates are coming to the party, which makes recruitment less of a chore, and it's not just people wanting to run for Congress.

"We have a lot of people looking at the state House and Senate races, and that is an area of focus for us," he said. "It's important to show we have the people out there" who want to serve as Democrats.

In the late 1990s, legislators gave retiring lawmakers a very generous health care benefit — health care for life for the lawmaker (over age 62), spouse and minor children. The Senate is usually filled with older lawmakers, who have been retiring at much greater pace than the younger House members. A House-sponsored bill to take away those retired lawmaker health benefits died in the Senate this past session.

Rob Latham, chairman of the Utah Libertarian Party, says his party will target selected "swing" districts in an effort to defeat GOP candidates. Latham says on several fronts the majority Republicans in the 2006 Legislature did not help Utahns achieve more fair and representative elections.

But no third party has held a Utah legislative seat since the 1920s.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; jloftin@desnews.com