Can a Democrat crack into Utah's top, statewide offices, like governor or U.S. Senate?

The 2004 election results, I believe, say no.

Yes, there's always the possibility of a self-destructing GOP candidate who leads the ticket down the rabbit hole.

But an exit poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates for KSL-TV on Nov. 2 shows that Utahns have become — if it is possible — even more Republican in their voting patterns.

Democrats can rightly be proud of Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah.

He won his 2nd Congressional District (like he predicted) by a much larger percent than his 2002 race.

And Peter Corroon held on to win the Salt Lake County mayor's race against latecomer GOP challenger Ellis Ivory. So Democrats pick up a big local office there.

But in statewide races, Democrats fared poorly.

Their 1st and 3rd Congressional District candidates, also, were really rocked by incumbent Republican Reps. Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon.

Here are some numbers from Jones' KSL-TV exit poll:

• Fifty-five percent of those who voted said they are Republicans. This is the largest number for Republicans Jones can remember, and it bodes poorly for Democrats. Only 21 percent of those voting — and remember, this was a good voter turnout Nov. 2 — said they are Democrats. Nineteen percent said they were political independents.

During the 1980s and 1990s — at a time when the only major statewide officeholder the Democrats had was the attorney general — the basic breakout among the electorate was 40 percent Republicans, 25-30 percent Democrats and 25-30 percent for independents.

True, in low-voter turnout elections, maybe 50 percent who showed up were Republicans — because Republicans tend to be more motivated ballot-casters. But the Democratic numbers rebounded in big elections.

Jones believes 2004 confirms what he's been seeing for a bit — a new wave of Republicanism is sweeping across Utah and the Mountain West.

• Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr., running against Rep. Matheson's older brother, Scott Matheson Jr., in the governor's race, proved to be dominant in key demographic areas.

Huntsman got 83 percent of the Republican vote and 38 percent of the independent vote. In years gone by when there were fewer Republicans and more independents in the state, those numbers could have meant trouble. But not now.

Huntsman also got 69 percent of the LDS vote, a big win statewide.

• The clear link between the Republican Party and LDS voters continues, and perhaps is even stronger.