Matheson confident; Dew undaunted

Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson — he of the well-known Utah political name — wants another two-year term in the U.S. House.

Bill Dew, GOP political newcomer, says Matheson has "fooled" 2nd District constituents too long, and it is time for Matheson to go.

With only days before the Nov. 4 election, Matheson is well ahead of Dew in fund raising. And the latest Deseret News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates, taken in September, finds Matheson with a huge 35-percentage-point lead among registered voters. The district is one of the largest geographically in the nation, running from eastern Salt Lake County, east to the Utah border and south and southwest, including Washington and Iron counties. No doubt Matheson's lead will shrink by Election Day, as more hard-core Republicans come over into Dew's camp.

However, Dew still recognizes his situation. "I know we have an impossible task" in beating the well-funded, well-liked incumbent. "But impossible things happen every day."

Matheson says while he "takes nothing for granted," he can also read polls. He believes he's well-known in his district, he is "comfortable" with his constituents, and is "feeling real confident that (he) will be rewarded" with re-election early next month.

Dew defines himself as a consistent conservative. Matheson says he follows no party line, and as a former leader among the Blue Dog Democrats in the House is a fiscal conservative.

Dew, a millionaire homebuilder through his now-closed-down Dewbury Homes, has taken a well-worn trail toward challenging Matheson — attempting to show that Matheson really votes with liberal national Democrats in Washington, D.C., not like his more conservative constituents would like back home in Utah, one of the most Republican states in the nation.

Except for 2002, when the GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the 2nd District lines to make Matheson's district much more GOP-voting, Matheson racked up impressive victories. Most recently, he beat former state GOP Rep. LaVar Christensen, 59-37 percent, in 2006. Matheson, 48, middle son of the late Utah Democratic Gov. Scott M. Matheson, first won election in 2000.

Dew says it is time to put someone with "Utah values" in the 2nd District. Matheson simply doesn't vote in Congress as most Utahns want, says Dew, 56.