Democrat enters 1st District race

Next time he visits Library Square, Steve Thompson hopes that his support of small businesses, living wages and opposition to nuclear waste force him to find a larger venue.

Announcing his candidacy for the 1st Congressional District to a crowd of only about a dozen people, Thompson remained confident about his chances and assured his supporters that their energy would not be wasted.

"There may only be a handful of us now, but there will be thousands of us here in November," he said. "We'll all be here with one goal in mind, and that's to elect a Utah Democrat."

In delivering what he characterized as his "first stump speech," the Logan city councilman laid out his priorities, which he said focus on "the well-being of all of the people in my district." Among them are increasing salaries by encouraging small, locally owned businesses over big-box corporations, preserving the thousands of jobs at Hill Air Force Base, protecting technical jobs from outsourcing and maintaining important research projects at Utah's universities.

He also vowed to do everything possible to keep nuclear waste from being stored or transported in Utah, something that he said incumbent Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, has failed to do because of his support for an Envirocare request to accept hotter nuclear waste from Ohio.

"It doesn't make sense to work on the well-being of our citizens if we put those citizens at risk," he said.

Although a relative unknown, Thompson could give Bishop a more difficult race than expected, said Randy Simmons, a Utah State University political science professor. Thompson is a candidate who could bridge the gap between the Democrats who believe that you can only be a party member "if you're part of the wine and cheese crowd" and the more moderate Mormons who "think they're supposed to vote Republican," Simmons said.

Along with challenging an incumbent Republican in one of the most Republican districts in the nation, other problems facing Thompson are Bishop's relative lack of mistakes and his affable manner. While Bishop has years of experience in the classroom and can relate well to people, Thompson will need to adjust to the brighter lights of a congressional campaign.

"The only thing Bishop got criticized about was Envirocare, and that's not much of an issue to run on," Simmons said. "(Bishop) is very personable, and when compared to him, everyone else seems really boring."

Democratic State Party Chairman Donald Dunn disagreed that Envirocare is not enough to run on and said that while he is not supporting a candidate yet — Brian Earl Watkins is also running as a Democrat — he does see Bishop as a vulnerable incumbent.

"He stated off on the wrong foot and looked liked he was representing Ohio instead of Utah," Dunn said.

Thompson owns two Logan-based companies and has served on many Cache County economic policy and business groups. He has also served on the executive committee of Envision Utah, as well as the advisory board for the Sundance Institute. He is a lifelong resident of Logan, holds a bachelor's degree from USU and is married.

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com