Biskupski said that many Democrats, including herself, were hoping Rod Julander would take his wife's place. When McCoy stepped into the race, Biskupski pulled him aside and had a "mother-son" talk with him to make sure he knew what he was getting into.

"I don't think it's going to be easy for Scott, but it will ultimately be good for him," said Biskupski, who added that since the election she has had a chance to sit down with McCoy to offer some advice from her own experience.

She said she has heard that both Huntsman and Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, have said they will not oppose the appointment. "I think that speaks volumes about their character in not getting in the way."

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, who supported Amendment 3, said he thinks McCoy comes to the Senate with "a very specific agenda, promoting the gay and lesbian lifestyle. He's very unabashed about that."

That's a concern, too, for Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, but she is philosophical about it. "People have the right to make their own choices, and that's the lifestyle he's chosen, and that's the choice the Democrats made."

Actually, she added with a chuckle, "I think I'm more concerned about him being an attorney. Especially a Democrat who's an attorney."

McCoy, who grew up in Missouri and Oklahoma, has a law degree from Yeshiva University's Cardozo College of Law. He moved to Utah three years ago to clerk for Utah Supreme Court Justice Leonard Russon.

"I come to the Senate with an olive branch extended," he says. "A hand of friendship extended."

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E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com; gfattah@desnews.com