Number of contests too close to call

Pignanelli & Webb: During the summer, most politicos predicted few changes in the partisan makeup of the Utah Legislature. Proving the rule that politics is never stagnant, electoral dynamics have changed in a number of local races. As noted in prior columns, these recent developments are due to challengers who are stronger and more aggressive than expected, or the intervention of external forces such as school choice interests and the Utah Education Association.

• District 36 (Olympus Cove, Millcreek) — Incumbent Susan Lawrence, an educator and manager, is a moderate Republican with a legislative track record focused on criminal issues including background checks for day-care providers. With a friendly manner and gracious attitude, she has won friends on both sides of the political spectrum. Although Democrats have eyed this Republican swing district for many years, in the last two races Lawrence easily dispatched her hard-working opponents. Most political observers figured that Lawrence had an easy lock on this seat for decades.