Huntsman and Shurtleff far ahead

No surprises here — a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows that GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff should easily win re-election on Tuesday.

Even Republican Richard Ellis has a strong lead in his race for the open state treasurer's seat, despite an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations that his primary opponent offered him a bribe to drop out.

The poll by Dan Jones & Associates found that an overwhelming 77 percent of registered voters backed Huntsman's bid for a second term. Sixteen percent said they favored his Democratic challenger, business consultant Bob Springmeyer. Jones, an independent pollster, has also done polling for Huntsman this year.

In the attorney general's race, 66 percent of registered voters surveyed supported Shurtleff's run for a third term. His Democratic opponent, Jean Welch Hill, an attorney for the state Office of Education, was the choice of 22 percent.

Ellis, currently the deputy state treasurer, was the pick of 53 percent of the poll respondents to take over for retiring GOP treasurer Ed Alter while 28 percent said they'd vote for Democrat Dick Clark.

The poll of 1,205 registered voters throughout Utah has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent. It was conducted Oct. 24-30. Respondents were asked in each of the statewide races which candidate they would vote for if the election were held on the day they were contacted.

Springmeyer said voters have focused most of their attention this election year on the presidential race. He said he still believes he'll win close to 40 percent of the vote as a result of having Barack Obama as the top Democrat on the ballot.

That could prove pollsters wrong this year, Springmeyer said.

"They've got to be terrified this year with the incredible turnout we expect and the early voting and the impact of a candidacy like Obama's that is so powerful at the top, and so energizing to a whole new group of voters," he said.

Jones said Springmeyer was hurt because he couldn't come up with enough money to campaign effectively against a popular governor. Springmeyer raised $74,500 compared to Huntsman, who has raised more than $914,000 in campaign contributions.

Jones said it's always tough to challenge an incumbent. And when it comes to races for attorney general and treasurer, he said, voters often have even less interest because they know little about the offices.

Huntsman credits his record for his strong showing in the poll. "Gov. Huntsman continues to work hard for the people of Utah and is obviously pleased that the people are happy with his performance," his spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said.

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E-mail: lisa@desnews.com