A tale of two popular Utah Democrats: one beats the odds, the other fails spectacularly

Philpot, who did not concede the race until midday Wednesday, said money may also have made a difference. Unlike other GOP congressional candidates nationwide, he received little help from the national party.

"There was a point in time when the negative attacks started that we didn't have the money to rebut them," he said. "We were operating on $250,000 versus $1.7 million — and a name that's well known in Utah. Given that, we did fantastic."

Even though the 2nd District encompasses much of the state, Philpot said a Democrat didn't have a chance to win the governor's race.

"The state is just not going to elect a Democrat right now," he said. "And probably not in the near future."

2nd Congressional District

Jim Matheson (D) 116,404, 50.7 percent

Morgan Philpot (R) 105,514, 45.9 percent

855 of 855 precincts reporting

Governor

Gary Herbert (R) 381,244, 64.2 percent

Peter Corroon (D) 188,832, 31.8 percent

2,147 of 2,148 precincts reporting

Source: elections.utah.gov

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