Just one more week of election fun

Pignanelli: Question: what do you get when two national political parties are flush with cash and have too few places to spend? Answer: $2 million splurged advertising in Utah's 2nd Congressional District.

Because of redistricting and the power of incumbency, only a handful of the contests in the country are truly competitive. Thus the congressional campaign committees have money to burn, even though Jim Matheson has been leading John Swallow during the entire season.

Swallow was faced with this dilemma: run the positive race that ignores Matheson and undoubtedly lose or concede to the demands of the national Republican committee, in exchange for their massive financial support, attack Matheson and possibly create a chance for victory. The only route to remove some of Matheson's popularity is through hard-hitting advertisements focused on hot-button issues (i.e. abortion, support of John Kerry), which explains the content and frequency of the anti-Matheson commercials.

According to tracking by some pollsters, the gap between Swallow and Matheson is closing. Matheson's response of quoting Republican primary opponents is a brilliant "two-fer." Matheson uses well-known Republicans to question Swallow campaign tactics and also reminds the GOP how nasty that election was back in June.

The tenor of the 2nd Congressional District race is especially highlighted in comparison to other major races. Scott Matheson Jr. and Jon Huntsman Jr. are cordial to the point that some joke that they may endorse each other before Election Day. Utahns have been exposed to negative campaigns in the past, but not in the frequency shared by other states.

• Some Republican candidates are worried about negative fallout from the bruising battle in the 2nd Congressional District. Observers are noting how the strong emphasis these candidates are making in professing a positive campaign.

• GOP campaigns are receiving better poll numbers in Salt Lake County in reaction to the entry by Ellis Ivory into the county mayor election. Support by party faithful in other races — in jeopardy because of disgust with Nancy Workman — is now returning.