At least most voters know who Walker is

If Gov. Olene Walker decides to throw her hat into the crowded field of GOP gubernatorial contenders, she will have one decided advantage: People know she's the incumbent governor.

A just-completed Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll found that 87 percent of Utahns know Walker — who took the oath of office just two months ago — is the governor.

"If you live long enough, sooner or later everyone will find out your name," quipped Walker, 72.

But would Walker parlay the name recognition into a bid for the GOP nomination?

"Right now I am focused on being the best governor I can be," she said, avoiding once again the question of "Will she or won't she?" that has dogged her since she took over for Mike Leavitt, the former governor who resigned to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Leavitt, by the way, was second in the poll, named as governor by 5 percent of those questioned, and just ahead of the 2 percent who thought U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, was governor.

Walker has ducked and dodged the question of whether she will run for governor. If she does, she is positioning herself as a moderate in a field that includes former Rep. Jim Hansen, Speaker of the House Marty Stephens, former ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr., businessman Fred Lampropoulos, state Sen. Parley Hellewell, former House Speaker Nolan Karras and Utah County Commissioner Gary Herbert. Former Rep. Merrill Cook is also considering a bid.

According to the poll, Utahns know Walker is steering the ship of state. But 55 percent admit they don't know who the current lieutenant governor is. Lt. Gov. Gayle McKeachnie was correctly identified by 19 percent of those questioned — the highest percentage of those named — when given a menu of names.

In second place with 10 percent was Val Oveson — the lieutenant governor under Gov. Norm Bangerter from 1985 to 1992. Oveson now works as a technology adviser to Walker, but he has been out of the public eye for more than a decade.

McKeachnie is an attorney from the Uinta Basin who was virtually unknown to all but Capitol Hill insiders before he was plucked by Walker to be her lieutenant governor. So even 19 percent name recognition would seem pretty good.

"I am surprised so many people knew my name," McKeachnie said. "The bigger question is how many people could spell my name."

Others garnering tallies included Walker, who was the lieutenant governor before Leavitt's resignation, 4 percent; Stephens, who wants to be the next governor, 6 percent; and Senate President Al Mansell and Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, both with 3 percent.

The statewide poll of 408 households was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates from Dec. 27 to Jan. 3. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

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E-MAIL: spang@desnews.com