Last-minute allegations fly in Utah races

Last-minute political ploys and infusions of personal cash fell upon Utah's top races Monday as candidates and their supporters make their final push to Tuesday's elections.

Throughout the state, polls open at 7 a.m. Contact your local county clerk to find your polling place.

Much of the action over the weekend took place in the 2nd Congressional District as Republicans battled uphill to defeat Democrat Jim Matheson.

Over four days, GOP nominee Derek Smith has put $110,000 of his own money into the race. His personal spending total now hits $924,000. The 2nd District race, when the Matheson and Smith campaign spending is added to outside spending by special interest groups, is nearing $4 million, the most expensive ever in Utah.

And Smith is distancing himself from a flier sent out last week and telephone calling over the weekend, both aimed at harming Matheson on Election Day. "That flier is deceptive, it is not factual," said Smith. "I strongly urge this group to take no further liberties with the sensibilities of the people of the 2nd District."

In addition, Matheson spokeswoman Alyson Heyrend said someone started a telephone bank over the weekend calling Republican and Democratic homes pretending to be in favor of Matheson but really slamming him. "They are saying they are from the Jim Matheson campaign and then listing some of (our) contributors — the usual suspects, Jane Fonda, Hand Gun Control and so on."

By listing the same contributor names as those in an anti-Matheson TV ad being run by the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Utah Republican Party, the callers are clearly trying to push those contacted against Matheson, Heyrend said.

Scott Simpson, executive director of the Utah Republican Party, said his group is only running get-out-the-vote telephone banks and is not responsible for the Matheson calls. The Smith camp also said it wasn't involved.

Heyrend says the flier is from the Republican Majority Issues Committee, a Washington, D.C., group associated with House GOP leaders. The committee has also been running anti-Matheson radio ads over the past several weeks.

The flier shows a Boy Scout alongside the phrase "What Did I Do Wrong?" It goes on to say Matheson received contributions from the Human Rights Campaign Fund and implies he supports gay marriage and special rights for transvestites.

Matheson has said repeatedly that he supports the Supreme Court decision supporting the Boy Scouts' ban against homosexual Scout leaders and opposes legalizing same-sex marriage.