Prediction: big year for GOP in Utah (again)

If Swallow does pull it out at the last minute, Utah will again end up one of the most Republican states in the nation — all top offices going to Republicans.

Democrats haven't been down that low since the mid-1980s.

U.S. Senate: Sen. Bob Bennett wins in a cakewalk over former Democratic Attorney General Paul Van Dam. Van Dam won a statewide race in 1988. But he didn't catch on this time.

The Senate race, which has been a high-profile contest in years gone by, was a sleeper this year.

1st Congressional District: Freshman GOP Rep. Rob Bishop beats Logan City Council chairman Steve Thompson easily.

Former 1st District Rep. Jim Hansen usually had solid victories — only challenged a few times in his 22-year career. Even though Bishop has had some missteps politically the past two years, his future is so bright he has to wear shades (as the song says). Bishop could be around for a long time.

3rd District: Even though Rep. Chris Cannon was targeted by some immigration groups and took time off from campaigning to attend to an ill family member, he wins re-election easily over Democrat Beau Babka, as well.

Cannon is an arch-conservative. And it's strange that he keeps getting challenged by unhappy Republicans within his own party. But he's defeated intra-party challenges in each re-election and he seems strongly entrenched.

Attorney General: GOP incumbent Mark Shurtleff carries the day over Democrat Greg Skordas. Skordas is an attractive candidate, and don't be surprised to see him on a ballot again.

This was an odd race. Shurtleff angered some of his GOP base by his opposition to Amendment 3, which bans gay marriages. But Skordas, just as the campaign was taking off, decided to be the criminal defense attorney to embattled GOP Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman, angering some of Skordas' Democratic base and making others wonder what the heck he was doing getting into that mess.

County mayor: This one is a tossup. I have no idea who wins between Republican Ellis Ivory and Democrat Peter Corroon. If Ivory wins I see a whole new strategy: Get a troubled incumbent to become "mentally disabled" a month before the election and then have a white knight, whom people really don't know, ride to the rescue.