Poll finds Utahns don't want candidates eliminated at convention

SALT LAKE CITY — Most Utahns like the caucus-convention-primary process the state political parties use to select their nominees, but they don't care for the fact that a popular incumbent can be driven completely out of office at a party convention, a new poll shows.

Three-fourths of voters said they don't like the fact that they may not get to vote on a candidate because he or she was eliminated at convention — before a primary — and say they prefer a direct primary where they know they'd get a say at the ballot box, finds the survey by Dan Jones & Associates.

The poll was conducted for the Deseret News and KSL-TV to measure voters' opinions on Utah's unique party candidate nominating process.

Eighty-four percent of voters told Jones they are familiar with Utah's nomination system. And 56 percent favored it.

That opinion changed over some specific aspects of Utah's system — like the fact that any candidate, even a popular incumbent with a strong chance to win a primary or a general election, can be eliminated from the election at the state party convention if 60 percent of convention delegates vote for someone else:

 58 percent disapprove of delegates being able to eliminate candidates at convention.

 72 percent "definitely" or "probably" prefer a direct primary election system.

 Half "definitely" like a primary election where all voters could participate.

It's not a partisan issue, Jones found. A direct primary system was preferred by 63 percent of "strong Republicans," and 97 percent of "strong Democrats."

A previous Jones poll recently found that U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, could be eliminated from his re-election bid this Saturday at the state Republican convention. Bennett may not be able to muster the 40 percent needed to advance to a primary election.

Thirty-eight states have a direct primary system: Candidates in different parties file for office, then voters pick a party to vote in on primary election day. In some cases, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote there is a run-off primary. In other cases, the top vote-getter in the only primary is the party candidate.

Utah has a bifurcated system.

Utahns meet in neighborhood caucuses (previously called mass meetings). In those March caucuses, party rank-and-file members elect county and state delegates.