Top Utah incumbents win easily

Incumbent seemed to be the party of choice for voters in the four Utah congressional races.

As expected, the Utah delegation to Congress will not change, with all four candidates seeking another term easily winning their races. All of them were poised to win, with at least 55 percent of the vote.

Despite national concern among Republicans about losing the U.S. House of Representatives, GOP voters in the 2nd Congressional District stuck with their Democratic representative, Jim Matheson. He defeated former state legislator LaVar Christensen, who attempted to use the potential switch in House control to his advantage in the last weeks of the campaign.

"America has Utah, and Utah has a congressman who works hard every day to put Utah first," Matheson said. "In me, Utah has a confident voice that is respected and heard on both sides of the aisle."

As for the possible power shift in Congress, Matheson pointed to the moderate "Blue Dogs" coalition, which he said a number of the newly elected members will join. Because of that, liberal Democrats such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who is the front-runner for speaker, may not drive the agenda.

Christensen did not go so far as to commit to another run but did say that he would be willing to look at any option where we could have an impact.

"I will serve wherever I can do good," Christensen said. "I really believe that Utah has a prominent role to play in the future of America."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will return for a sixth term in the Senate after warding off hard-working Democratic challenger Pete Ashdown. While happy about his victory, Hatch was disappointed that Congress may not be controlled by Republicans.

"I've been in the Senate for 30 years," he said. "There has never been one day in 30 years where a majority has been conservative."

Ashdown, after traveling the state for almost a year and gaining national attention for his use of the Internet to reach voters, said that he had very few regrets about the race, even with a loss. Ideally, he would have liked more extensive debates with Hatch, but otherwise, he thought that the voters heard his message.

"I'm enormously happy with the campaign, with the ground I covered, and with the ideals I raised," Ashdown said. "These are things that will become more of a part of the discussion."

The closest congressional race in Utah this year was the 3rd District Republican primary between Rep. Chris Cannon , R-Utah, and John Jacob. In comparison, Cannon's race against youthful Democratic challenger Christian Burridge seemed like a cakewalk.