This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
NEW YORK - Republican Jon Huntsman Jr.'s campaign for governor is closely aligning itself with President Bush's re-election effort, contending Huntsman's ties to Bush will strengthen Utah's connections with the administration if Bush wins.
"Having somebody who has a personal relationship with the administration and can deliver our message is absolutely key to Utah being able to be successful and not be ignored," said Huntsman running mate Gary Herbert, who met with state delegates, national party leaders and White House operatives during the Republican National Convention that concluded Thursday in New York.
In contrast to Herbert's pitch that a Huntsman administration and a Bush administration "go hand in hand," the campaign of Democratic contender Scott Matheson has much more of an arm's-length alignment with his party's presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
"When asked, I've indicated I will support the nominee of my party," Matheson said in a telephone interview Friday, during which he never mentioned Kerry by name. "This is a misplaced issue, because no one knows at this point who will even be president. Our campaign is about who will be the best governor for the people of Utah."
Both candidates for Utah governor have lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and have held presidentially appointed positions in the federal government. A former aide on Capitol Hill to the late Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah, Matheson was U.S. attorney for Utah from 1993 to 1997 during the Clinton administration before becoming dean of the University of Utah law school.
Huntsman served in the administrations of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush before he became the current Bush administration's lead trade negotiator for Africa, South Asia and East Asia, a post he resigned from last year to move his family back to Utah.
Although Cabinet changes could occur if President Bush is re-elected, the current administration includes several key officials with Utah connections. Among them: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt (former governor), Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke (former head of the Utah Department of Natural Resources) and chief political adviser Karl Rove (a former University of Utah student).
"We have significant big-time players in Washington, D.C., in positions of importance that are helping to shape America's policy and it helps Utah if you know those people personally," said Herbert. "Being able to say, 'Hi W.,' and the president to say, 'Hi Jon, how's Mary Kaye and the kids?' is an important aspect of a relationship that is pretty unique in a gubernatorial candidate."
Matheson, however, points to past Utah governors - including his father, Scott Matheson - who forged professional and personal relationships with presidents from the opposite party.
"I can work effectively with either administration," said Matheson, whose running mate is state Sen. Karen Hale.
To run successfully in a strongly Republican state, some Utah Democrats play on the state's independent streak by obliquely aligning themselves more with Republican presidential candidates than their party's own. Matheson's brother, 2nd District Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson, used complimentary video of Bush in his successful 2002 campaign commercial, and earlier this year said his endorsement for Gen. Wesley Clark's failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination was "not an anti-Bush message on my part."
Recent history indicates a Kerry presidency and its likely stand on key Western and social policies may present another political minefield for Utah Democratic officeholders. Former Rep. Bill Orton, D-Utah, frequently distanced himself from the Clinton administration when Orton represented the conservative and predominantly rural 3rd District from 1991 to 1997.
Orton maintained that having a Utah member of Congress from the same party as the president helped protect the state's interests. That claim sustained a mortal wound with Clinton's 1996 decision to create the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The monument designation was widely unpopular in Orton's district and was considered one of the major factors that helped current Republican incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon oust Orton in 1996.