Only 3 states likely to be part of a Western primary

Just three states may end up participating in a 2008 regional presidential primary proposed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., but he believes that's still enough to attract national candidates to Utah.

Earlier this summer, Huntsman joined New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in calling for Western states to hold presidential primary elections on the same day to give the region more influence in what's already a hotly contested race for both Democrats and Republicans.

Their intent is to set a date early enough in February that the nominations of both national parties will still be up for grabs, after the nation's first primary in New Hampshire and before so-called Super Tuesday, when a number of states hold elections.

Huntsman and Richardson suggested then that at least six Western states were interested in participating — Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming in addition to Utah and New Mexico.

But now Huntsman says the total number of states involved could be only three, four at the most.

"If we could get four states — even three — it's certainly worth doing. If we get four, that's a nice, round number and would be representative of this region," the governor told the Deseret Morning News.

He said he's counting on Arizona to join Utah and New Mexico. As for the fourth state? "It could be Nevada. It could be Idaho. It could be Montana," Huntsman said. He's crossed Colorado and Wyoming off the list, however.

Still, he's optimistic. "If we're successful by the end of the year in cobbling something together, then we can begin to market this region to the parties and the candidates" as early as next year, Huntsman said.

This isn't the first time a Utah governor has tried to organize a Western states primary.

Former Gov. Mike Leavitt pushed for the first one, in 2000. But only Utah, Colorado and Wyoming Republicans participated, and the election ended up being held after Super Tuesday had decided the national party candidates.

Utah lawmakers refused to fund a primary in 2004, because President Bush did not face an opponent. The state's Democrats organized and funded their own statewide presidential preference primary.

The difficulty in selling states on the regional primary is both the price tag — Utah spent about $700,000 on the 2000 election — and the potential penalty from the national parties for holding the election early.

The political parties attempt to control the primary process by requiring states to hold elections between mid-February and early June. States that don't comply lose a chunk of delegates to the national party conventions.