As candidates trade barbs, voters yawn

Tim Bridgewater and John Swallow must be feeling a bit frustrated these days.

A recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates shows that 38 percent of 2nd Congressional District voters don't know whom they like in that race.

Now, one may say that five weeks out of the June 22 primary election, maybe that's not too bad.

But a Swallow-Bridgewater 2nd District primary next month is the exact same match-up as two years ago.

Swallow narrowly won that primary — 52 percent to 48 percent, a victory of fewer than 2,000 votes.

And now it's just 24 months later and more than two-thirds of the voters don't have an opinion on the race?

Jones found that even among Republicans themselves, 39 percent didn't have a preference.

In 2002, the first "closed" GOP primary, only 12 percent of voters across the state came to the polls. That's a pretty sad number. Yes, it was not a presidential election year. And politicos always say there is more general interest in presidential election years, so more people may turn out next month.

Still, you would think that the "don't knows" would be smaller than 40 percent.

Some may say that the high number of "don't knows" is a result of the general negative tone of a Swallow-Bridgewater match. These guys don't seem to like each other much.

And it is true that Bridgewater didn't do a lot to help Swallow after the June 2002 primary. Swallow lost to Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Matheson by less than 1 percentage point and fewer than 2,000 votes in the final election.

But it is not unusual for a losing candidate on primary night to pledge all his support for the fellow party member who just beat him, and then to take a hike for four months — maybe even leave town.

Bridgewater has been going around the district this year saying Swallow had his chance and blew it. He says Swallow can't get the independent votes needed to beat Matheson, even in a district that's nearly 60 percent Republican.

Swallow is saying Bridgewater — a millionaire — is self-funding his race again, showing a lack of grass-roots support. While he, says Swallow, has raised more money for a U.S. House race than any non-incumbent in state history.

In any case, there's not much love lost in the 2nd District.