What the public wants

From Pete Ashdown Campaign Collaboration Wiki

What issues or stances will best appeal to the Utah voting public?

From Wikipedia article on Utah:

• 60% of state residents are Latter-day Saints
• State has a restrictive attitude towards alcohol and gambing
• Historically, there has been tension between new, non-LDS immigrants and the existing LDS population
• State has been growing quickly. 1970s saw phenomenal suburb growth.
• Transportation and urbanization are major political issues
• Growth is causing consumption of agricultural land and wilderness areas
• Racial makeup: 85.3% white, 9.0% hispanic.
• Religious makeup: 60% LDS, 15% Protestant, 6% Catholic, 1% Other, 18% Non-religious
• Age makeup: 32.2% under 18, 8.5% 65 or older.
• One of the most conservative and Republican states in the nations
• Liberal bastions exist around Salt Lake City.
• Salt Lake City's mayor Rocky Anderson considered one of the most liberal politicians in the US. He supports same-sex marriage and the Kyoto Treaty.
• Practicing Mormons control well over 90% of the elected political offices in the state.
• In 2004, Bush won every county in the state; Utah gave him the largest margin of victory of any state.
• Utah County has the most conservative politicians
• Utah ranks first in antidepressant use in the US.
• Utah ranks first in personal bankruptcies per capita in the US.
• Utah ranks last in number of abortions per capita (possibly due to going out of state for abortion due to parental notification requirements)

[edit] Testimonial from Slashdot 01/04/06

(Comments are heavily edited for brevity; see link for originals.)

He gets my Vote... if I lived in Utah, also one of his previous jobs was a Computer Tech, which makes him over qualified for Politics... but oh well :) -- IndigoZenith

I typically vote Republican and have voted for Hatch in the past but I feel that Pete's attention to his customers (through XMission) will translate to his constituents. I will definitely vote for him this fall. -- cschmidt

I live in Utah, and Utah *is* the reddest of red states. It's so bad that my father in law, who is about as conservative as they come, is an active member of the Democratic party because he believes that we have to restore some balance and foster some debate.

Ashdown is handicapped by his party affiliation, but I think he's taken a very clever approach to managing it. If you read through his issues statements, in pretty much every case where the Democratic party's official position would sink him in Utah, he falls back on a States' Rights argument (which is a very popular position in Utah).

That's a formula that can work with all sorts of issues that are relatively unpopular in Utah, without completely alienating the Democratic base (which is also quite a bit more conservative than in most places).

FWIW, I'm pretty conservative, but I just sent some money, ordered some bumper stickers and I'll put up an Ashdown sign in my yard after the snow melts. -- swillden

[edit] Utahns want a change

• "a poll released in November shows that only 45 percent of Utah residents say they want Hatch re-elected. A total of 48 percent say it's time to pick someone new for the Senate, raising the possibility that Ashdown's campaign is not a completely Don Quixote, Man of LaMancha-like effort." -- [1]
• Utah Democratic Party Leader Wayne Holland: "I'm hearing from all kinds of people, even the corporate executives that I know quite well, and who have favored (Hatch) in the past, that he's lost touch. He's too much a D.C. insider. You know, Sen. Hatch has preached for years the anti-Washington (sermon). But now he's part of the problem, not part of any solutions." [2]
• 33 percent of Republicans said it's time to let someone new serve in the seat. only 16 percent of Democrats want Hatch re-elected, only 31 percent of independents want the senator to serve another six years. Eighty-one percent of Democrats said it's time to give someone new a chance to serve; while 61 percent of independents say elect someone new next year.[3]
• "A lot of people think Hatch has been in Washington too long, has become a creature of the beltway, is focused too much on national issues, and has lost touch with Utahns." [4]
• "There are grumblings from Washington, D.C., that high-tech and Internet businesses wish to unseat the senator because of his aggressive activities to protect the entertainment industry in contravention to their business plans. Politicos are anticipating their involvement in choosing and funding a candidate." [5]
• In a 54% to 34% poll, Utahns opposed the congressional and presidential actions around the Schiavo family dealing with removing Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. This shows Utahns don't like seeing extraordinary federal activity in people's personal lives.