Early results: Bush easy victor in Utah

President Bush easily captured Utah's five electoral votes on Tuesday, winning his strong Republican base and defying national skepticism about the war in Iraq.

Bush's win in Utah was based on a statistical analysis from voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

The president's victory was a foregone conclusion, as were a smattering of other races in which Republicans were considered locks.

Republican Jon Huntsman Jr., heir to his father's chemical fortune and drawing on Utah's overwhelming GOP base, easily defeated Democratic challenger Scott Matheson Jr.

"I like Huntsman's ideas, and I think he's a fresh face," said James Brinkerhoff, a 29-year-old customer service officer at the University of Utah hospital.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett cruised past Democrat Paul Van Dam for a third term, and Rep. Rob Bishop in the 1st District and Rep. Chris Cannon in the 3rd district were also expected to win re-election handily.

About two-thirds of Utah voters approved of the way Bush was handling his job, according to exit polling. Of them, more than 95 percent voted to return Bush to a second term.

Utah is home to Hill Air Force Base and a large number of reservists and Guardsman serving in Iraq. Nearly 70 percent of those interviewed said they supported Bush's decision to go to war, and about 90 percent of those voted for Bush's re-election.

Voters also overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

The governor's race was the first since 1992 that didn't feature Mike Leavitt, who left the job in 2003 to take over the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Leavitt was succeeded by then-Lt. Gov. Olene Walker, who sought re-election but was defeated in her party's primary.

That other Matheson worked feverishly to avoid another white-knuckle finish in his rematch against Republican John Swallow, whom he beat in 2002 by less than one percent of the vote.

Democrats also tried to snatch a surprise win in Salt Lake County, where Peter Corroon held a slight edge in his bid to replace outgoing mayor Nancy Workman. Workman, dogged by two felony charges of misusing public funds, dropped out of the race and cleared the way for Republican Ellis Ivory, a wealthy Salt Lake valley developer, to replace her on the ballot.