"What I didn't anticipate is just the wonderful, wonderful name" identification that came to Huntsman, the eldest son of billionaire/philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., Jones said.

While both Jim and Scott Matheson also have a good name — the late Gov. Scott M. Matheson was their father — Scott Matheson just didn't draw as well statewide as his younger brother, Jim, did in the 2nd District.

Jones shared a recollection about Scott Matheson Jr.: Years ago, when the former governor knew he was dying of a rare form of cancer, he and Jones spoke about Utah politics privately, Jones said. "The governor told me his oldest son (Scott) had one good race in him, but that he (the governor) wouldn't live to see it." That race was this year.

Jones said negative TV ads and fliers in the 2nd District sunk Swallow, especially in the Salt Lake County portion of the district.

Matheson beat Swallow 65 percent to 32 percent in Salt Lake County. Of the 16 counties contained wholly or in part in the 2nd District, Matheson won just five.

Swallow didn't apologize Wednesday for how he ran his race. "Some things in campaigns we can't control," he said, speaking about Utah Republican Party fliers and ads by the National Republican Congressional Committee. However, Swallow's own campaign criticized Matheson along the same themes as the fliers and NRCC ads.

"But to be frank about it, three weeks ago my own polling showed us 34 points behind," Swallow said. "We got that down to 5 percentage points" behind in a survey taken for him just before the election. "It's hard to beat an incumbent when there is such a large gap."

Swallow added: "If I'd gone up with TV advertising when (both Jim and Scott Matheson were running early TV), I'd have been closer in the home stretch, and then I could have gone with a different type of a message. The (30-point) gap required us to talk strongly about issues and (Jim Matheson's) record."

Jones said he doesn't like negative campaign advertising, but he noted how Swallow closed on Matheson in the time the NRCC spent more than $1.1 million in the last month of the campaign, much of it in ads criticizing Matheson.

Jones said 19 percent of Jim Matheson's votes came from Republicans. But his brother couldn't come close to that in his gubernatorial race, where Huntsman beat Scott Matheson 56 percent to 43 percent, unofficial results Wednesday showed.

Jones said religion may have played a role in that race, as it does in many Utah contests. Huntsman is the grandson of the late LDS Church Apostle David B. Haight, who died this year. Many people knew that connection, Jones said, and "the active LDS went overwhelmingly" for Huntsman.