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Show Hingkley Journal of Politics 2005 able to further mobilize the Utah Republican Party (Dean 1983). Some of this capability stemmed from a national feeling of distrust in the government. The end of the Vietnam War, economic inflation, and Watergate, had all instilled a certain level of disdain for government (Dean 1983). Garn and Hatch offered an alternative to big government. This appealed to a large number of that sector of society, which was fed up with the increasing amount of federal dominance. The election of these two prominent Republican politicians gave rise to the conservative movement in the state of Utah. Another decisive moment of the 70s came when, again, LDS Church leader Ezra Taft Benson was quoted in an interview with the Alternative Press saying, "it would be difficult for a Mormon to be a liberal Democrat if he was living the gospel and understood it" (Dean, 1983). This caused an uproar in Utah communities and drove even more of a wedge between the LDS Church and the Utah Democratic Party. Benson's comment came in 1974, the same year that Utah Republicans gained control of both houses of the State Legislature (Dean 1983). The aftermath of Watergate seemed to give many Democrats a false sense of hope for the next election cycle and many saw the possibility of taking back the Presidency. This false hope seemed to cause Utah Democrats to lose momentum and over the next several years, they continued to lose seats to the GOP (Dean 1983). The 1978 elections were more than damaging to Utah Democrats. Republicans won fourteen of fifteen State Senate races (Utah State Legislature 2004). More importantly, five of the races lost were seats held by Democratic incumbents who were simply ousted by the omnipresent GOP. These new gains positioned the Republican Party in a two-to-one control of both houses of the Legislature (Dean 1983). By 1980, Utah had converted to a more conservative view, an occurrence that was symptomatic of a larger national movement. The new President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, was a very conservative Republican. This year marked a significant low-point for the Democratic Party on both the national and state level. United States Congressman Gunn McKay, a Democratic incumbent who had served ten years in Utah politics, was defeated by Republican challenger James Hansen (Dean, 1983). Most disturbingly, McKay had the reputation as a folksy, moderate, and respected legislator and was a member of the LDS Church. Sadly, his ten years of service and LDS background proved no match for the rapidly changing minds of Utah voters. Becoming a Republican Super-majority The reelected Democratic governor, Scott Matheson, was the only stronghold left for Utah Democrats (Utah Democrat 1980). However, even with his leadership the GOP had control of both houses in the Legislature and now had the two-thirds necessary to make any bill veto-proof (Dean 1983). This overwhelming control allowed the GOP to deliver what Democrats perceived to be the final blow: a 1981 Legislative Reapportionment Committee whose sole purpose seemed to be the disbandment of the Utah Democratic Party. Even a former Republican legislator was quoted regarding the reapportionment as saying, "...[Y]ou have some goosenecks and strange aggregations of voters who have no common interests" (Dean 1983). In many ways this was the final straw for some Democrats. In a 1982 interview, former State Party Chair John Klas expressed his frustration, "How can you ask me why the Democrats aren't up fighting? We've been fighting as hard as we can. It's starting to look like a stone wall out there, and a lot of people are just plain tired of beating their heads bloody with no effect" (Dean 1983). A 1983 poll by the Hart Associates revealed that 70 percent of Mormons who attended church weekly were strong or leaning Republicans, with only 13 percent claiming to be Democrats (Dean 1983). Compared to the previously mentioned 1967 poll by Dr. Frank Jonas, Mormon Democrats had declined between 24 percent and 21 percent in just fifteen years. Democratic State Chairman Michael Miller summed it up, "I knew we had problems, but it's even worse than I believed. It's deeper in the fabric of the people than I believed" (Dean 1983). By 1982, after a decade of losses, it was fair to say that Utah Democrats were doing little in the way of gaining grassroots support. The party had become very centered in Salt Lake County and Democratic leaders were accused of ignoring rural Utah. In fact, one rural legislative chair complained that he drove all the way from Southern Utah for a training session only to find that State Party leadership had cancelled the session but not informed anyone (Dean 1983). Needless to say, the lack of organization gave them little in the way of motivation to support the party. Presumably, Democratic leadership at this time was feeling a bit hopeless and concluded the only races they had a chance of winning were in Salt Lake County. This philosophy, while it might have been true, was damaging to Utah Democrats because it further isolated rural counties already dominated by the GOP. In 1984, the last Democratic stronghold, the governorship, was lost to the Republican Party. Republican Norm Bangerter beat Democrat Wayne Owens with a 56-44 percent margin (McCormick 2004). In the 1988 gubernatorial race, former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson ran on the Democratic ticket against Bangerter. The race was intense and the Democrats felt they had a real chance at taking the seat back. Also running in the race was Independent candidate Merrill Cook. The results were a devastating loss for the Democrats, with Bangerter narrowly winning by just a one percent margin (McCormick 2004). The Republicans maintained control of the Legislature throughout the 90s and again made a pitch to redistrict in 1991 (Utah Democrat 1991). One of the most controversial tactics of the redistricting involved splitting Salt Lake County 55 |