A calm atmosphere prevailed at the Utah County Democratic Convention Saturday in Provo.

With only two contested races, House District 57 and Senate District 16, most of the Democratic candidates simply met with their district delegates and residents.

In those two races, Mary Lou Huffmon and Terry Jensen were vying for the nomination in House District 57, while Fred Desposorio and RaDene Hatfield fought it out in Senate District 16. Huffmon and Hatfield received the party nominations.

Hatfield will face Republican incumbent Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, for the senate seat, a fight she wasn't exactly thrilled to wage at first.

"At first I didn't want to run and take on the Goliath of Curt Bramble," she said. But she changed her mind and decided she should run to change the Legislature and make a difference. She said she could get Republican votes and the delegates clearly agreed with her.

"I believe we can beat Curt Bramble," she said to loud applause.

Ethics, health insurance, education and the environment were at the top of the list for all the candidates, as well as stressing that the legislature needs to have two parties to work together in order to accomplish the things the people of the state want.

Richard Davis, the Utah County Democratic chairman, said every race would be difficult, but the party had a great slate of candidates.

"We have a big task this year winning these elections for the first time in a long time in Utah County," he said.

Congressman Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who is up for re-election this year as well, spoke at the convention saying this year would be a good year for Democrats in Utah. A Legislature who passed the voucher law and then was overwhelmingly overturned by the people they represented, is a Legislature who doesn't listen to their constituents, he said.

"There's a different environment now," he said. "People are taking their vote more seriously."

He said in his fifth year running as a Democrat he knows what the candidates face.

"I know it's not easy to run as a Democrat in Utah," he said. "Good luck, we all need to do this together."

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E-mail: csmith@desnews.com