But Hill says if a private attorney acted in his personal business dealings like Shurtleff has in his campaign fund raising and spending, there could be real questions about ethical practices before the Utah State Bar.

Still, the latest poll shows that Huntsman and Shurtleff, who have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last few years, have little to fear now from Springmeyer and Hill, whose campaigns are clearly underfunded compared to the GOP incumbents.

Democrats hope to make inroads in Salt Lake County this year. Democratic Mayor Peter Corroon is popular, as is U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, whose 2nd District takes in the eastside of the county. (See accompanying poll story on Utah's congressional contests.)

In 2004, Huntsman's first election, he actually lost Salt Lake County to Democrat Scott Matheson Jr. But the new poll finds that Huntsman leads Springmeyer 68-19 percent in the county, which makes up about 40 percent of Utah's population.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com