Demos hitch wagon to Mitt

Utah Democrats are using Mitt Romney, one of the most popular Republicans in the state, to sell voters on the need for a strong two-party system.

Telephone calls in Utah County and ads in Salt Lake newspapers featuring a comment Romney made in 2002 about "living in a state that was overwhelmingly Republican" are part of the party's last-minute effort to win votes for Democratic candidates.

The comment, made when Romney was running for governor as a Republican in Democratic-dominated Massachusetts, describes how in Utah, "the more extreme wing of the dominant party begins to have more and more political sway."

But in a statement released today, Romney said he's backing Republicans in Utah.

"I want to make it clear that I am supporting the Republican ticket in Utah. It's true that I strongly believe in a two-party system, but you don't get there with inferior candidates who have bad positions," Romney said.

Since dropping out of the presidential race in February, Romney has campaigned for GOP candidates around the country. He said he supports Republicans "because they will promote policies that will make America stronger at home and around the world."

Utah County Democrats used the comment this weekend in a recorded phone message, state Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland said. The state party paid for half-page color ads in the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune Monday.

"We thought this was an important message because it was something Mitt Romney believed in," Holland said. "I think it was important for us to let people know who had respected the Mitt Romney presidential bid that this was the way he felt."

Romney, the leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and a Mormon, like the majority of Utahns, won an overwhelming 90 percent of the vote in the state's GOP presidential primary in February.

The Utah Republican Party sent out a mailer last week to 66,000 GOP and unaffiliated voters in Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties with a message from Romney to vote Republican.

Romney said in the mailer that "there has never been a more critical time for you to be involved in the political process. ... These are tumultuous times. We are at war with terrorists. The stock market is on a roller coaster. Our common values are under attack."

The Utah GOP also issued a statement questioning the ethics of the Democrats using "the reputation of Utah's adopted son, Governor Mitt Romney, for their own political gain without his authorization or approval."

Holland said the comment was from public sources.

"The Republicans can't possibly complain about that," he said. "That's just normal politics."

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