Taylorsville Demo drops out of race

The Democratic opponent of Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, has dropped out of the race, leaving the majority-party incumbent running unopposed for re-election.

Democrat Philip Tomassian withdrew as a candidate in House District 34 last week, just before what would have been his first financial-disclosure report was due.

Holdaway said he was surprised when he heard late last week that his only opponent had quit.

"It's caught me a little flat-footed. I said, 'It's great news, if it's true,"' he said Monday. With Tomassian now officially off the ballot, Holdaway said he's "still planning to campaign, just not as vigorously, obviously."

Tomassian's decision did not come as a surprise to state party officials, however.

"He hadn't been terribly active," said Todd Taylor , state Democratic Party executive director. "It happens every cycle...I think people have a tendency to look up and go, 'This is more work than I expected it to be.'"

Tomassian left the race in time for his name to be removed from the ballot, Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swenson said, but at this point, he cannot be replaced by another Democrat.

Taylor said there likely will be another opportunity for a Democrat to unseat Holdaway. The Republican has served in the Legislature since 1999. "I think there is a good opportunity for the right candidate in that district," he said.

Holdaway, a special-education teacher in the Granite School District, has raised $14,750 toward his race and nearly $3,700 of that was carried over from previous campaigns, according to his Sept. 15 financial-disclosure report to the state.

Thanks to the lack of opposition now, Holdaway said he expects to have around $8,000 left over after election day for his next campaign. That kind of war chest, he said, "probably scares some folks off."

He said he'll return his single biggest contribution — $3,000 in campaign assistance such as telephone calls to get out the vote — pledged by the Utah Education Association PAC. "I won't be using it," Holdaway said of the in-kind contribution.

The teacher's union wasn't the only support the self-described "more mainstream" GOP candidate received from organized labor. The Utah AFL-CIO gave him $500 and the Salt Lake County Firefighters Local 1696 donated $400.

Other sources of money included Utah Association of Realtors and the Utah Manufactures Association, as well as fellow members of the GOP. House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, gave him $2,000 and the Utah House Republican Election Committee contributed $1,000.