Utah was the third-best finish for McCain on Tuesday, behind Oklahoma and Wyoming. And despite predictions of a record turnout — and huge numbers of early voters — only 58 percent of registered voters went to the polls, more than 44,000 fewer votes than in 2004.

Pollster Dan Jones said some supporters of Mitt Romney's failed White House bid apparently stayed home on Election Day.

Romney, the leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, handed McCain his worst primary defeat by winning Utah's GOP presidential primary in February with a whopping 90 percent of the vote.

After dropping out of the presidential race, Romney headed back out on the campaign trail for McCain and other Republicans and is considered a leading contender for the GOP nomination in 2012, along with McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Jones wasn't ready to predict an Obama victory in Utah four years from now, either. "That would be very difficult," the pollster said, "especially if his opponent is Mitt Romney."

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Contributing: Lee Davidson

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E-mail: lisa@desnews.com