Demos' best hopes are in House races

On a night when Democrats hoped to claim four seats in the Utah Senate, their best chances for upset became races in the Utah House.

Early returns indicate that Tim Cosgrove, who narrowly lost to Rep. Chad Bennion, R-Murray, in 2002, may have convinced doubters in this year's rematch. If Cosgrove were to hold on, it would be a success both for the Democrats because of the elimination of a prominent incumbent and a personal victory for Cosgrove, who has butted heads with Bennion over seat-belt bills.

"We feel real good, all of us," Cosgrove said. "We worked hard on a very positive platform, and we just kept talking to people."

Bennion said that despite early numbers, he expected the race to become significantly closer as his "strength" precincts were counted. He was concerned, however, that last-minute negative advertising had hurt his effort.

"We've had positive experiences" talking to people, Bennion said. "But there's been a lot of negative advertising in the last couple of weeks, and I'm watching to see how that will impact."

Other legislative races in Salt Lake County that were expected to come down to the wire were living up to expectations, especially in the west-side Salt Lake City Senate District 1. There Sen. James Evans, R-Salt Lake, saw an early lead dwindle and was practically even with former Democratic representative Fred Fife. The district is viewed as vital to the Democrats' efforts to regain seats in the Senate.

Another important district was not swinging to the Democrats as of press time, however. With a large lead, Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, looked poised to hold the southeastern Salt Lake County Senate 8 seat, one which both parties considered an area that could go either way.

With many of the early precincts outside from Midvale and Sandy, Walker sounded confident about her chances because "Cottonwood Heights is my strength," she said. "I'm pleased, to say the least."

Other races that were expected to remain close included House 32, where Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley, was in a rematch with Democrat Corey Rushton, whom he narrowly defeated in 2002. In House 35, Democrat Mark Wheatly and Republican Lee Brinton were vying to replace long-time Rep. Judy Buffmire, D-Salt Lake, while in House 36, Rep. Susan Lawrence, D-Salt Lake, was hoping to retain the seat despite a serious challenge from well-funded Democrat Gary Sackett.

While Democrats were eyeing Republican seats in Salt Lake County, the GOP took one of the few Democratic seats in the House. In the northern Utah District 1, which includes most of Box Elder County, Rep. Eli Anderson, D-Brigham City, will not return for an eighth term in the House after losing 53-46 to Republican Rhonda Menlove.