GOP gains 5 seats in Utah House, 1 in state Senate

SALT LAKE CITY — The wave of support for Republican candidates this mid-term election washed through the state Capitol on Tuesday, leaving the already GOP-heavy Utah Legislature even more red.

Republicans gained one seat in the state Senate and five in the Utah House of Representatives, increasing their majority in both chambers. In January, Republicans will occupy 22 of the 29 Senate seats and 58 of the 75 seats in the House.

"It was a big win for the Republicans," said Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City. "We gained ground where I didn't think there was hope to gain."

House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, said Utah — like much of the nation — was hit with a wave of enthusiasm and support for Republican candidates.

"It was a similar dynamic to what we saw two years ago with the enthusiasm of Democrats (and left-leaning independent voters)," Litvack said.

The GOP retained all nine Senate seats up for re-election Tuesday and took the District 12 seat from Democrats with Daniel W. Thatcher's 53 percent to 47 percent victory over Sen. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley City.

Senate Minority Leader Pat Jones, D-Holladay, said losing the seat is disappointing "because you never want to go backward." The minority party already faces challenges of spreading itself too thin among legislative committees, which Jones says hinders the effectiveness of the political process and ultimately is a disservice to Utah residents.

"I believe in more balance in our state legislatures, whether in Massachusetts or Utah," she said. "I think it's better when you have choices. You don't want one grocery store. You don't want one type of automobile to buy. Why would you not want a choice in politics?"

Jenkins, however, predicts Democrats will continue to lose ground in the state Legislature unless they adopt a more moderate political ideology.

"We want to work with them," he said, "but it can't be from an extreme left position … because there's no common ground there."

In the House, all Republican incumbents facing re-election this year were victorious. The party also retained all seats currently occupied by GOP legislators in races that didn't include an incumbent.

Republicans extended their advantage in the House with voters ousting Reps. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden; Jim Gowans, D-Tooele; and Laura Black, Trisha Beck and Jay Seegmiller — all Democrats representing Sandy.