Corroon to kick off campaign Tuesday

Tuesday morning, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon will kick off his campaign to become the state's first Democratic governor in decades.

Corroon's announcement comes as no surprise. He has long been seen as the Democrat most likely to challenge GOP Gov. Gary Herbert in November's special election for the remainder of former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s term.

"The Democratic Party is probably delighted to have him running — a credible, high-profile candidate," said Kelly Patterson, head of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.

Given Utah's Republican-dominated politics, Patterson said the race won't be easy for Corroon, especially because he's not well known outside the Salt Lake area. "It's an uphill struggle, but it's not impossible," Patterson said.

Corroon and his top advisers stayed mum Friday after news of his intentions leaked to reporters. It took much of the day for his campaign to issue a statement describing his "plans as governor." Details about his announcement were not released until early evening. He is scheduled to begin the day Tuesday on the steps of Salt Lake Community College's south city campus before heading to Ogden and St. George. On Wednesday, he's appearing in Provo.

The campaign statement said Corroon believes "he can help move Utah forward with a smaller, more efficient government focused on educating Utah children, creating jobs by fostering locally owned businesses, bringing new companies to Utah, and making Utah a leader in renewable energy while protecting our unique values and quality of life."

That doesn't sound much different from Herbert's goals since taking office in August after Huntsman resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China. The governor had little to say about his first and, so far, only challenger.

"Gov. Herbert respects Mayor Corroon and his record of public service to Salt Lake County and the state of Utah," said Herbert's spokeswoman Angie Welling. "Peter is a respected friend who has represented the Democratic Party well."

Last November, a Deseret News/KSL-TV poll found nearly a third of Utahns would support him over Herbert. That was enough for Corroon to call the race viable and acknowledge he was seriously looking at jumping in. Re-elected by a large margin in 2008, he is not expected to resign as mayor during his gubernatorial campaign.