Well, it's not that I want Matheson to lose, it's that I don't like him and don't care if he wins or loses. If he wins, fine, maybe he'll vote 5% of what I'd like, since he's in an even more conservative district this time. If he loses, fine, it teaches the Utah Democrats that we can't rely on Matheson to be the Utah Democratic standard bearer, and it gives Utah a diverse Congresswomen who, though ideologically opposed to what I like, has done moderate things in the past (Mia Love raised taxes a couple of times as mayor, and has stayed mostly quiet on social issues). It's not like she'll be anything but a Tea Party puppet, but at least she'll probably come to her senses occasionally, with that record.
I still think Peter Cooke is going to win (or have a good chance of doing so) this year though.
I know how you feel. I think it's even more frustrating being a Democrat in Georgia. We have the demographics to win statewide, but out party is in shambles and no one gives us a chance. It's gotten to the point where Republicans are pretty much assumed the winners before the campaign even starts. So democratic voters get lazy and the Republicans in power don't think anyone will ever keep them in check.
I think eventually there will be a day of reckoning here in GA though, when the demographics catch up with the Republicans and they'll be blindsided, I just don't know when that will be. And I think that eventually the Republicans will get to a point when they're considered too conservative even for Utah and the dems will make a comeback of sorts.
I heard somewhere that people who move into the urban areas in Utah from elsewhere almost immediately start voting Democrat, since the GOP there is almost entirely associated with Mormons. Maybe eventually Utah will hit parity, when dem voting outsiders will rival the Mormons.
