Local Democrats lose all races
The Cache Democrats met together Tuesday night as they watched losing results come in race after race.
As of midnight on Nov. 3, the Democratic Party had lost every race they entered.
Reid Pearce, Cache Democrat chairperson, said he feels things would be different if voters would listen to the issues and not be afraid of stereotypes and scare tactics.
“Some of the tags that conservatives of Cache County put on Democrats just aren’t right. Some believe in abortion and some don’t. There are a lot of issues like that,” Pearce said.
Despite the difficulties, Pearce said the number of Democrats in Cache County has more than doubled in the last nine years – a trend he feels will only continue.
Democrat Steve Thompson, who ran for Congress, said he feels there are other problems that prevent Democrats from winning. Thompson said he feels the House of Representatives is gerrymandered in favor of the incumbents. Out of the 435 seats, probably only four will be defeated, Thompson said. Thompson, who served on Logan City Council for 10 years, said he is unsure if he will run for office again in the future.
Tim Hutson, Utah House of Representatives District 3 Democrat candidate, said he didn’t have high expectations going in to the race. Hutson, who ran two years ago for the same office against the same opponent, said he decided to run again because he strongly disagrees with Republican Craig Buttars’ support of school vouchers.
“If they run unopposed it’s like rubber stamping what they do as being ok,” Hutson said.
Matthew W. Everett, Democrat candidate for Utah Senate, District 25, is the same age as the district he ran for. The youngest candidate in this years’ election, Everett said he is glad the election is over. Everett is the State Chair of College Democrats and plans on continuing in politics.
“I’ve made the promise, and the threat, that this is not the last time you’ll see my name on the ballot,” Everett said.
In one of the closer races, Democrat Wendell Morse ran against Republican Fred Hunsaker for a spot in the House for District 4. Morse said he felt if voters truly looked at the ballot and the issues, then he would have had a good chance. However, if there was a lot of straight party voting that would make a win more difficult. Although it was his first time running for office, he said he is comfortable with the Legislative process having lobbied for Utah State University for years. Morse said while it is hard to win as a Democrat in Utah, it is not hard to be a Democrat in Utah.
“I couldn’t possibly be a Republican in Utah, so no I don’t find it hard to be a Democrat in Utah. [Republicans] do things in closed meetings and don’t really represent Utah even though they say they do,” Morse said.
The Democrats in attendance cheered when Initiative 1 appeared to be passing earlier on in the evening, with some commenting that it would likely be their only “win” of the night. They cheered again when John Kerry won California and booed when Amendment 3 was passed and when Scott Matheson, Democrat candidate for governor, conceded.
“It’s always been discouraging to be a Democrat in Utah,” said Cy Martz, a senior major in public relations in attendance.
Martz said he feels voters were ill-informed on Amendment 3 and that it will be a “black mark” on the state of Utah and the Constitution. Martz, who worked with Steve Thompson on his campaign, said it’s sad that the best man for the job won’t win just because he has a ‘D’ after his name.
-hilaryi@cc.usu.edu