Voter turnout for primary thrills Demos

Results of Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary were overshadowed by tales of long election lines, overwhelmed officials, a lack of ballots to accommodate voters, a shared disdain for President Bush and a feeling of shock by participants unaware that so many members of the state's minority party lived in their neighborhood.

And that was just in Provo.

Similar stories from St. George to Logan flowed into Utah's Democratic Party downtown headquarters all day, which explains why even though Sen. John Kerry was the official winner, Utah Democrats were being hailed as the unofficial winners by the state party chairman. Donald Dunn was downright giddy with the better-than-anticipated turnout of 34,854.

As a comparison, only 15,687 Utahns cast votes in the 2000 Democratic race between presidential hopefuls Bill Bradley and Al Gore at the Western States Primary. That same year, 91,000 people voted in Utah's Republican primary. In 1992 — when Democrats were the only party to have a primary, as was the case this year — between 27,000 and 31,000 Utahns made it to the polls.

(Democratic Party files containing voters' names verify the smaller amount that party leaders have been using: 27,000. Dunn downplayed Deseret News reports from the time that show 31,000.)

Dunn called Tuesday "a great day for Utah Democrats," declaring that the so-called surprise showing was a clarion call by Utahns who desire a leadership shift locally and at the White House.

"I think there's no question there were thousands and thousands of people in Utah who believe they want to have a choice and change in president," Dunn said. "This was a wake-up call to them (Republicans). They better watch out cause we're coming. We're going to put more Democrats in the state House and Senate, and we're going to elect a Democratic governor."

State Minority Whip Brad King, D-Price, said he's not sure if the turnout will impact state races in November, but he is encouraged about interest being generated for the campaign season.

"The Democratic primary has got people thinking early," he said. "I hope that means people are having time to study the issues and make informed decisions."

Some Republicans were less than impressed with Tuesday's turnout and aren't convinced it is the beginning of a statewide Democratic revolution. They see Dunn's enthusiasm as more positive political spin, seeing as Utah has 2.1 million residents and 1.1 million registered voters of which only an estimated 3 percent participated.