Scott Matheson enters race for governor

Scott Matheson Jr. made it official Saturday: He wants to be the second Matheson to be governor of Utah.

At East High School, where he went to school 3 1/2 decades ago, Matheson officially kicked off his gubernatorial bid, jolting his so-far-sleepy Democratic campaign to life before 200 supporters, including prominent Utah Democrats like former Gov. Cal Rampton.

"We enter this election with hope and confidence," he declared. "And so this campaign, our campaign, is about a lot of things. It's about balance, it's about education, it's about jobs, it's about economic development, health care, the environment, family and our quality of life."

Matheson, the son of the late former Gov. Scott Matheson Sr. and the only declared Democrat in the governor's race, has a free ride in the party's state convention where party delegates elect their slate of candidates. He is waiting to see who will come out of the crowded GOP field of nine candidates — a race that so far has seen Republicans snipe at one another rather than at Matheson.

Not since 1984 has a Democrat lived in the governor's mansion, and that was Matheson's father and namesake. Matheson Sr. was one of the state's most popular governors, despite the GOP domination in Utah. He died in 1990 of a rare type of cancer his family believes was caused by fallout from nuclear testing that blew over his southern Utah home.

The fact that the 49-year-old Matheson has never held public office shouldn't be a shortcoming, political experts say.

Matheson is the dean of the University of Utah law school and he is a former U.S. attorney for Utah. And he has the Matheson name.

His brother, U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who is running for re-election in Utah's 2nd Congressional District, is leading in early polls against his Republican contenders. Scott Matheson's mother, Norma Matheson, is much revered in all political corners.

"I think he's got a chance," said David Magleby, a political scientist and Brigham Young University professor. "I think the Mathesons bring with them a substantial reservoir of appreciation and success."

Scott Matheson Jr.'s political future may well be decided by who wins the Republican nomination. A recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll showed Matheson easily winning over all Republicans except two: current Gov. Olene Walker and Jon Huntsman Jr., son of industrialist and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr.