One person who jumped off the Republican ship to join the Democrats on Tuesday was Chris Nelson of Pleasant Grove.

"I was a Republican, now I'm a Democrat," Nelson said. "I have some issues with Republican views."

Some attendees, including Kristin Mathews of Provo, came to the meeting to get involved at a basic level of government.

"A lot of people get involved at the national level but not at the local level," Mathews said. "I wanted to get involved with the grass-roots aspect."

After the winners were announced, Davis said his first order of business is to make sure the party is united. Then he wants to recruit viable candidates and raise funds to build the organization.

Huffmon said the convention was an overall win for the party.

"We got a lot of people out and got a lot of exposure," Huffmon said. "Win or lose, I'm a really happy person being involved and doing what's right."

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E-mail: knelson@desnews.com