UT-Gov 2020: We don't know what we're doing.

[Zioneer]

I'm setting up this thread early just because I can.

In any case, there are no announced Republican candidates yet, though Lt. Gov Spencer Cox is a likely candidate, as is Josh Romney, and a bunch of potential state legislators.

On the Democratic side, there are also no announced candidates, and there's only a couple of viable candidates, including Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. The rest are unlikely to even hit 30%.

Speaking as a Utah Democrat, we just phone it in on gubernatorial elections. As the title says, we don't have idea of what we're doing.

[jamestroll]

I would hope that Utah Democrats will not run Misty Snow

With Trump entering office, I would not write anything off in Utah at this point. I am really hoping Mia Love switches to Senate, so that way UT-04 could open up.

Ben McAdams, let me repeat, is the only Democrat who can win statewide in Utah. I am unsure if Matheson could do it anymore.

Wilder can't do it, many Utahan's do have a libertarian streak. Can not see him breaking through. Sim Gill just does not get the margins he needs.

Doug Owens, lol no.

[Dr. Arch]

Outside of the SLC house seat, when was the last time a Democrat won anything of significance in Utah??

[Dr. Arch]

Outside of the SLC house seat, when was the last time a Democrat won anything of significance in Utah??

[jamestroll]

The last significant race that Democrats won was when Jan Graham was re-elected Attorney Election in 1996.

And no, she will not be a candidate. While she is quite well known as an attorney in Salt Lake City, most voters memories of her are very very faint.

Utah's median age is 30. So around half the voters were not even politically aware when she was in office.

Yes, it is has been 20 years since a Democrat could declare victory statewide in Utah, but one state has Utah beat as the longest without a Democratic statewide victory. That state is Texas, when 1994 was the last time a couple Democrats won statewide.

[RI]

How successful do you think a Mormon-equivalent of John Bel Edwards would be in Utah?

[RINO Tom]

How successful do you think a Mormon-equivalent of John Bel Edwards would be in Utah?

I'll let the UT folks answer, but I'd guess not well.  Utah doesn't have 70-year old voters who remember voting straight ticket Democrat when they were younger, they have 70-year old voters who have ALWAYS at least been Republican-friendly.  The historic attachment to the Democratic Party in the South seems to at least turn a few heads even still today (Democratic local candidates almost always run ahead of the ticket), but some of those states were dominated by Democrats even 8 years ago ... not the case in the Mountain West.

[Zioneer]

I would hope that Utah Democrats will not run Misty Snow

With Trump entering office, I would not write anything off in Utah at this point. I am really hoping Mia Love switches to Senate, so that way UT-04 could open up.

Ben McAdams, let me repeat, is the only Democrat who can win statewide in Utah. I am unsure if Matheson could do it anymore.

Wilder can't do it, many Utahan's do have a libertarian streak. Can not see him breaking through. Sim Gill just does not get the margins he needs.

Doug Owens, lol no.

Yeah, I hope Misty Snow doesn't run for anything ever again outside of Salt Lake City. She is honestly not a good candidate.

I agree on wanting Mia Love to run for Senate for that reason, though we'll have to have a good candidate ahead of time. Ben McAdams is probably the only one left who could actually win UT-04 or statewide.

I think Wilder might be able to at least win UT-04, he has a good reputation in the county, and I don't think that many suburban Utahns mind his law and order stance. I agree that he couldn't win statewide.

Sim Gill would be our best candidate for AG, and could be an intriguing candidate for UT-04, but I agree that he just couldn't win otherwise.

Doug Owens always seemed like a great candidate, but you are correct, lol no after two straight losses in a row.

[Zioneer]

Outside of the SLC house seat, when was the last time a Democrat won anything of significance in Utah??

For a couple decades, we've had a state house seat in Carbon County, which is the rough Utah equivalent to West Virginia. We lost it in 2012 before winning it back in 2014, but now we lost it again.

We also consistently hold the mayorship of Ogden, which is the county seat and biggest city in Weber County, and probably in northern Utah. The problem is that the mayors of Ogden tend to stick put in their little fiefdom and don't try for state legislature or any higher office.

[The Arizonan]

When was the last time that Utah had a Democratic period in its history?

[Vega]

When was the last time that Utah had a Democratic period in its history?

When Scott Matheson Sr. was the Governor, if you count that.

[Cynthia]

Jim Matheson proaly would do OK but I highly doubt he wants to leave his high-paying lobbying job

[Zioneer]

When was the last time that Utah had a Democratic period in its history?

60s to early 80s, we had Democratic Governors, in the 60s we had a Democratic legislature, and up until 1976, we had a Democratic Senator, Frank Moss. Before that, the FDR and Truman years (we voted for FDR and Truman every time, if I recall), and before that we had an extremely progressive Jewish governor of Utah named Simon Bamberger during WW1.

And when Utah was first made a state around 1896, we voted almost 80% Democratic, which scared state leaders and national politicians, since part of why Utah was allowed to become a state (besides ending polygamy) was because it was assumed that it would vote like a swing state.

[Indy Texas]

I've never entirely understood how the coalitions were set up during that period of the 20th century when there was relative parity between Republicans and Democrats in Utah politics. Was it a split based on income? Mormons versus non-Mormons? Region?

Also, will there be a "Likes Trump" Republican candidate and a "Doesn't Like Trump" Republican candidate in the primary?

[Figueira]

Outside of the SLC house seat, when was the last time a Democrat won anything of significance in Utah??

UT-04 is not the SLC House seat.

[jamestroll]

Outside of the SLC house seat, when was the last time a Democrat won anything of significance in Utah??

UT-04 is not the SLC House seat.

Yes, the Republicans put the city of Salt Lake proper in with Davis County, a bunch of western counties and Washington County Utah.  Also, they put most liberal cities or swing states in Salt Lake County (South Salt Lake, West Valley, Taylorsville, Murray, etc) with a bunch of arch conservative suburbs in Southern Salt Lake county and part of Utah County.

In other words, they did everything they could to prevent a Democrat from winning.

That being said, an open UT-04 would be very competitive if Mia Love goes for US Senate.

[Bojack Horseman]

When was the last time that Utah had a Democratic period in its history?

Democrats controlled the Utah House, Senate, and Governorship from 1975-1977.