Candidates abound in Utah

A large field of candidates decided to take the plunge this year, formally filing for federal, state, school board and county races by Monday night's deadline.

Democrats filled a few large candidate holes in the last week and now have candidates in all the major races in very-Republican Utah.

Even though Republicans hold five of the top six federal and state offices here, local Democrats feel 2008 may be their year, with retiring President Bush very unpopular and the economy breaking into recession.

"With the Republicans being the party of Merrill Cook, 'Superdell' and Chris Buttars, it feels pretty good to be a Democrat," said Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party.

Taylor refers to former 2nd Congressional District Rep. Merrill Cook, who in running his 12th major campaign is trying to win his party's U.S. House nomination again; Dell "Superdell" Schanze, a former computer-store owner who filed for Salt Lake County mayor as a Republican but then withdrew and filed for governor as a Libertarian Party member; and state Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, seeking re-election after making what some call a racist remark in the 2008 Legislature and declined to resign when called on to do so by the Utah Chapter of the NAACP.

Democrats filled their last large hole Monday when Bennion Spencer, a Riverton Democrat, filed in the 3rd Congressional District. Spencer ran, and lost, state Senate races in 2000 and 2002. Spencer will face the Republican who wins the district's GOP nomination — now a fight between six-term incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah; Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s former chief of staff Jason Chaffetz; former Juab County attorney David Leavitt; and archconservative Joe Ferguson.

One last-minute surprise: state Senate Majority Whip Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, an eight-year veteran, did not file for re-election. Half a dozen Republicans and one Democrat filed in his Senate District 23.

There is no U.S. Senate race in Utah this year. But there are still plenty of top contests that should attract voters. (Links to candidate listings can be found at www.elections.utah.gov/2008Candidates.htm.)

Stan Lockhart, state GOP party chairman, said Utah is, and will remain, a GOP state. And this year's Republican candidates "from top to bottom are a group of the highest quality."

Lockhart doesn't worry that Democrats are talking about 2008 being their year. "They said the same thing in 2006, but we did very well here." Utahns will continue to choose Republican candidates "because they represent Utah's values and principles."