Poll: Utah state delegates out of step with most Utahns

SALT LAKE CITY — Are state Republican and Democratic party delegates politically out of step with both their party rank-and-file and most other Utahns?

Yes, says a new Deseret News/KSL-TV survey.

And that leads to a broader question — is Utah's unique convention-primary candidate nominating process a fair and equitable system that produces a good democratic result?

A new, broad-ranging poll by Dan Jones & Associates sponsored by the newspaper, TV station, Utah Foundation and the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics shows that to some extent — and experts may disagree to the degree — Utah's nominating system is out of whack.

The poll shows that both parties' delegates are at the far ends of the political spectrum — GOP delegates are more conservative than Republican voters, while Democratic delegates are more liberal than Democratic voters. And the poor independent voters, more moderate — or in the middle — than both parties, may not find a candidate to truly represent them. That's because many, if not most, candidates are actually put on the ballot in their party county and state conventions by delegates who, politically speaking, are not like the rest of us.

In the very least, says Hinckley Institute director Kirk Jowers, the new survey shows that in both the Republican and Democratic parties, women are "effectively disenfranchised." There are too many male delegates in both the Republican and Democratic parties, the poll shows.

Speaking on KSL-TV's "Sunday Edition with Bruce Lindsay," Jowers says the current candidate system puts way too much power in the hands of several thousand party delegates.

In fact, the poll, as reported in the Sunday Deseret News and on KSL-TV, finds that U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, may well be kicked from office by state delegates in the May 8 Republican convention.

Is it fair or proper that the 3,500 delegates can end the 18-year career of a leading Utah politician, with neither GOP primary voters nor voters in the general election this November having a say?

No, says Jowers.

"I don't think this is a good system," Jowers told Lindsay. There is "disenfranchisement of a lot of people."

But LaVarr Webb, a former Deseret News editor and now a GOP campaign consultant, says Utah's system is working.

And the proof is in the pudding: Utah has elected good moderate leaders from both political parties. And currently Utah is one of the best managed states in America.

"Our neighborhood caucus, convention and primary system is open: to any and everyone. All can participate," said Webb. "You can be a part of the grassroots."