Not Even A Race
It's one of the most Republican states in the country, and the popular first-term governor is running for re-election in a presidential year. So it should come as no surprise that Utah Governor Jon Huntsman looks like a shoe-in for another four-year turn at the state capitol, according to a new poll by a Utah-based pollster.
The survey, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates for the Deseret News and KSL-TV, tested 405 registered voters between 6/16-19 for a margin of error of +/- 5.5%. Huntsman and his Democratic challenger, Bob Springmeyer, were tested. While Jones is an independent pollster, he has done work for Huntsman this year, the News reported.
General Election Matchup
Huntsman.........78
Springmeyer.....11
So, not much of a race in the Beehive State. The same poll showed Attorney General Mark Shurtleff with a similarly huge 68%-17% margin over his own opponent, Jean Welch Hill, making the Republican all but a lock for his own third term.
It's not uncommon for governors of a party in a significant minority to manage states and win accolades -- just ask Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Wyoming's Dave Freudenthal and Arizona's Janet Napolitano, all Democrats who won easy re-elections in states where their party exists as a distinct minority in the legislature. Too, Hawaii's Linda Lingle, Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri and California's Arnold Schwarzenegger all head states that vote reliably Democratic for most other offices.
But Utah isn't going Democratic any time soon. Huntsman had a serious challenger in 2004, when Scott Matheson, son of the state's last Democratic governor and brother of Jim, the lone Democrat representing the state in Congress, ran a strong campaign after raising $2 million. But Huntsman, who spent $3.2 million that year, easily outpaced Matheson to win by a 58%-41% margin.
With little to no Democratic bench in the state, and having won praise during his first term, it looks as if the job is Huntsman's as long as he wants it. That is, unless the same fate befalls him as it did to a previous governor, Mike Leavitt. In 2003, Leavitt left his post to head to Washington, picked to run President Bush's Environmental Protection Agency. Should John McCain win in November, Huntsman is likely to be on a short list for some Cabinet-level administrative positions, having endorsed the Arizona senator early in the primary process.